Hubble kept Cherry Lane’s characteristic quality construction, on-time delivery and affordable prices intact. His only major change was the name (Hubble Homes). Oh, and he also changed the print advertising. His new, simple and enticing promise, "Yes, You Can… Afford a Hubble Home,” made all the difference in the demand for the development.

Creating strong print advertisements isn’t easy, but it’s essentially an exercise in project management. Contractors who can multi-task designing, purchasing, scheduling, inspecting, detailing and all the other "ings” involved in homebuilding probably have the ingenuity necessary to improve their print advertising. Experts suggests a seven point plan:

1. Take a pragmatic approach.
Effective advertising requires an organized, structured methodology. Hal VonNessen, president of RESH Marketing, starts with a "creative platform”; a written document with standard items used as benchmarks to develop the right ads for his clients’ target audiences. "Successful print ad campaigns are built on foundations, like houses,” says VonNessen. "To create viable advertising, you need a logical, orderly work process. The creative platform creates consistency in message, which carries through in print ads, brochures and fliers. That consistency is the key to successful advertising.”

Mark Young, chairman of Western Creative, says, "In a hot market, when w’e’re making money we think we’re geniuses. But don’t believe your own hype. Long-term success requires a one-year marketing plan, a five-year business plan t and a worst-case contingency plan. Figure out how to set yourself apart from your competitors now, before you have to. Don’t settle for the immediate gratification of selling six houses today.”

2. Do your research.
"We develop buyer profiles to entice and encourage the correct audience to visit or to call us,” says Bob Perlberg, president of RAP Communications, Inc. RAP created an ad for Seabridge Villas (Huntington Beach, Calif.) that won the International Builders Show 2005 California Gold Winner Award for best black and white ad for a single project. Knowing their audience inside and out allows RAP to "build ads that contain the least amount of information possible, but use the largest amount of relevant data,” says Perlberg. "Print ads pre-qualify the buyers by letting them run through a checklist in their minds. We give them enough data, all the numbers that they need to know, but we don’t burden them with every detail.”

Group Two, a national marketing and advertising agency, has documented buyers’ preferences by ethnic group. Their ads play to the cultural strengths of ethnic buyers who ask for exactly what they want and quickly buy it when they find it. For example, Group Two designed ads that attract African American buyers by showing large formal dining and living areas capable of accommodating extended families. Hispanic families were enticed by ads for single-family homes that featured lavish kitchens and baths. Opulence was a key sales benefit for Filipino homebuyers. Korean parents, hoping to spend more time with their children, were drawn to timesaving appliances and locations convenient to work. Safety and security were key issues in ads addressing Brazilian families. Asian-Indian buyers, who place a premium on education, were the anticipated audience for ads that stressed proximity to good schools.

3. Develop a plan.
VonNessen identifies the purpose of every print campaign and specifies what it needs to accomplish in a measurable, obtainable way (e.g., increasing buyers’ awareness of the product or increasing traffic). Then he defines his target market and clarifies his product. "Builders sell three products: the core product, which is shelter; the tangible product, a house; and the augmented product, the lifestyle that buyers can expect to enjoy from the house,” he says. The core and tangible products are a given, so VonNessen focuses his copy on the augmented product or major benefit that the home offers: proximity to the ocean or mountains, maintenance-free landscaping, months of perfect weather or a luxurious master bath (supporting benefits such as access to schools or a community swimming pool may be added if the builder’s budget allows for a larger ad). "Each ad needs to make and support one specific claim,” says VonNessen. "That assures the credibility of the offer.”

4. Differentiate your product.
Mark Young, chairman of Western Creative, Inc. (Los Angeles, Calif.), advises his customers to define their "point of differentiation.” With pages and pages of display ads in the major markets, homebuyers need to know immediately what’s different about the advertiser. "We ask our clients to look inward, to identify what they do best or what unique points they have to offer,” says Young. "Is it their architects or their floor plans? Do they charge the lowest price per square foot or give buyers the most house for the price? This point of differentiation becomes the focus of the headline. It’s the call to action. Once you’ve got that ‘Ah ha!’ headline, you’re able to find the single point that will get and keep the buyers’ interest.”

To keep clients from "creating ads through the lenses of their own eyes,” Young suggests that they take one step back. "Consider yourself a paid consultant to your own company. Ask, ‘How can I do this better? Would I buy from me?’ Then write a report that addresses what you need to change and how to change it. It’s good for your perspective.”

Roy H. Williams, Entrepreneur.com’s advertising columnist and the founder/president of Wizard of Ads (Austin, Texas), says, "A good ad is a rhino—one sharp point says it all—while a bad ad is a porcupine—too many points, all similar. That one point is your identifying signature element, a vividly, visually memorable hook.”

"Try this test,” Williams suggests. "Pick up a magazine with many ads. Can you move the builder’s name from one ad to another without rewriting the text? If you can, the advertiser hasn’t defined his brand essence, and that’s a big mistake. Ads that work today tell buyers who you’re not, and for whom you don’t build. Instead of creating ads that don’t offend buyers, create ads that attract buyers, ads that visibly resonate with your target audience." Second test: take an ad and turn it upside down. Does anything jump out? If everything blends together, chances are that the ad won’t draw attention right side up, either.

5. Be selective.
"Chose what to lose,” says Williams. "You can’t say what every builder alive likes to say. Ads aren’t epic sagas. The days of hype are over. It’s a mistake to write ads that are like grocery lists—general, abstract and chest thumping. Specifics are more believable.”

6. Leverage your efforts.
Frequency is important to advertising effectiveness. "Three years ago, we ran only 12 ads each year, one for each of our clients,” says Perlberg, who considers market cycles when determining the appropriate advertising frequency. "Today we run 12 ads each week. Builders are working harder. The market forces us to think and focus. We’re back in the brochure business, too.”

Try to think outside the box, or at least outside the ad space itself. "When our customers pay for print ads, I get newspapers and magazines to run a press release, with pictures, that the advertiser wrote,” says Perlberg. "It validates the information in the ad and doubles its value. It’s gangbusters for our builders.”

7. Measure your results.
If the company is large enough, identify all data sources and create a central repository that integrates the data into trade and consumer promotions, ads and pricing, and product placement. Tracking data—traffic, measuring what works and what doesn’t work and quantifying customers’ reactions to campaigns—is a critical function for both large and small companies. The most successful campaigns use sophisticated metrics to analyze spending per campaign and to tie the results into each element of the next campaign.

Caveat entrepreneur: when evaluating an ad’s effectiveness, be somewhat cynical. "Advertisers who ask prospective buyers if they saw his ads get few people who will admit to it,” says Perlberg. "Only four people may say that they saw the ads, but traffic will go up 25 percent. The reality is that consumers don’t want builders to know that the ads brought them in. That makes people feel vulnerable; they’re afraid that 12 salespeople will jump them and they won’t get out with their wallets.” In other words, it’s fine to ask questions about advertising effectiveness, but trust the traffic count.

Print advertising is not an expense. It’s an investment. To get the greatest return from that investment you need to invest some time in planning, research and analysis. It’s the best way to add real value to your ad. ]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=318 "Solid countertops” originally referred to natural stone or wood. Wood butcher block, long the favored material of bakers and prep chefs, is a nice chopping surface. Marble and granite both convey a feeling of elegance, though granite is harder and more durable. Soapstone has the advantage of being inert (alkalis and acids won’t etch its surface); however, soapstone lacks variety in color and pattern, and has never enjoyed the popularity of marble or granite.

Manufactured solid surfaces have gained in popularity as the products have improved. They have uniform patterns and colors, allowing for a consistency from slab to slab that is unavailable in stone. Acrylic polymer surfaces offer a huge variety of colors and styles, including the look of granite, while being more versatile. Polymers have a unique characteristic: they can be molded without seams. Quartz surfacing, made of crushed quartz and resin, is often called "engineered stone.” Quartz surfacing is currently gaining in popularity faster than any other surface and is popular with high-end builders. Another recent innovation is recycled glass in resin. This creates a surface similar in quality to quartz surfacing, but with a very different look. Recycled glass countertops contribute towards certifying homes in U.S. Green Building Council construction.

GRANITE
Pros: Realtors consider granite a definite plus in homes because is creates an impression of elegance. It is durable and scratch- resistant.
Cons: Natural impurities can cause severe cracks. Other nicks and scratches require professional repairs that may remain visible. Seams show and edge details are limited. The stone must be resealed every few years.

MARBLE
Pros: Rich, deep colors give marble a warm appearance. Home-owners can prepare foods directly on its smooth nonstick finish.
Cons: Marble is often not recommended for kitchens because it is relatively soft and subject to oil and rust stains. It also reacts to acids; even the acid in water can damage the surface, leaving a white powdery residue. (Serpentine, a green marble look-alike, is sometimes substituted because it does not react to acids.) Marble needs a regular application of sealant.

SOAPSTONE
Pros: Soapstone can be worked more easily than marble or granite. It has a warmer feel than other stones, and the soft blue-gray colors are subtle. Joints can be nearly invisible, while deep scratches can be sanded and oiled away.
Cons: If soapstone is not oiled monthly the colors fade. It is prone to chipping, and may crack or darken over time. Soapstone slabs are small, thus requiring more joints.

ACRYLIC POLYMER (solid surface)
Pros: Most acrylics can be drilled, thermoformed or cut by router, allowing curves, inlays and complex design work. Edge options are nearly limitless (Corian offers coved backsplashes). Solid surface sinks can be chemically bonded to the underside of the countertop with no grout lines or recesses. Seams are also chemically bonded, making them inconspicuous. Acrylic polymer is very durable and maintenance-free. Tough stains, scratches and burns can be buffed out of matte finishes.
Cons: Extreme high heat can melt the surface, and homeowners must avoid thermal shock (when pouring stovetop-hot water into integrated sinks, run warm water simultaneously). Polymer finishes can dull over time, and may need to be buffed. Professional service is required to remove scratches in dark colors or gloss finishes.

QUARTZ
Pros: Quartz surfaces never require sealing, buffing or reconditioning. They offer the opulence and durability of granite without the maintenance.
Cons: Some consumers feel that quartz surfaces look too uniform. Quartz can be damaged by excessive force or pressure and warranties do not cover damage from heat.

BUTCHER BLOCK
Pros: Wood gives a natural look that can easily be repaired, as both scars and stains can be sanded away. It can be custom designed with patterns in different woods. If an oiled surface is used, consumers can cut directly on the surface.
Cons: Manufacturers recommend oiling the wood surfaces every four to six weeks. Wood can expand, contract and stain where exposed to water. Knives can damage urethane surfaces.

In 2004, U.S. kitchen and bath countertops were a $3 billion industry; demand is expected to reach 467 million square feet in 2007. Primarily, sales of the more expensive materials have been increasing. Plastic laminate has been losing ground, but still retains almost half of the total market. According to Catalina Research, solid surface material shipments rose 13.4 percent annually between 1997 and 2004, with stone countertop shipments increasing 25.3 percent annually. Stone—currently comprising about 34 percent of the market—is projected to become the most widely used countertop material on a dollar basis by 2009, representing 43 percent of the total market. Natural stone, wood and manufactured solid surface countertops are clearly the materials of choice for upper-end homes. ]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=316

Many economic experts who labeled 2005 a national "grow” year are forecasting 2006 to be a national "slow” year.

There are two problems with this prediction. First, economic forecasting is essentially a "whether” report. Economists can look at the market signs, signals and strategies and extrapolate what they think is going to happen. But, bottom line, nobody knows whether or not their predictions will come true. Hurricane Katrina is just one example of how unexpected "whethers” can turn an economic forecast into an economic miscast.

Second, note the word "national.” While there are certain market pressures that affect the nation as a whole, perhaps even more important are the economic issues whose impacts are state-specific. As your regional construction industry expert, BUILDERnews is pleased to offer concise analyses of the economic pressure points that will govern our nine-state region in 2006.

Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Nevada
Oregon
Texas
Utah
Washington

ECONOMIC FORECAST—ARIZONA (Back to top)
The Arizona climate and the Arizona home construction climate are both hot. Phoenix’s average high temperature is a balmy 86 degrees, compared to the continental U.S. average of 53.6 degrees. The housing industry in Arizona is every bit as hot, both individually and relatively. According to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Arizona recently led all 50 states in housing price appreciation with a 30.3 percent average appreciation over the last 12 months. (Florida was No. 2 with value growth of 25.5 percent.) The median home price in the Phoenix area was up 34.4 percent, another first.

Of course, what’s hot and what’s not is always relative. Consider these hot spots in the Arizona economic forecast:

DESPITE INCREASES IN MEDIAN HOME PRICES, ARIZONA HOUSING COSTS WILL REMAIN WORKABLE.
According to the National Association of Realtors, "Because prices have risen faster than income, the ratio of price to income is currently above the historical norm [in the area]. This measure is frequently cited to imply that there is a housing market bubble. But this ratio is a misleading measure in assessing bubble prospects. A more relevant measure is the mortgage servicing cost relative to income. This ratio is only minimally higher than the local historical average. It implies no widespread financial overstretching to purchase a home in the region.”

Consider the Phoenix area. According to NAR, the home price-to-income ratio in Phoenix is 2.9 as opposed to 3.8 for the nation’s top 20 metropolitan areas. Phoenix’s mortgage debt servicing cost- to-income ratio, 21 percent, is lower than that of the nation’s top 20 metropolitan areas (30 percent). In other words, when compared to other areas, Phoenix is fabulous.

NAR also notes that in Phoenix "a high usage of interest-only loans (45%) and ARMS (67%) places a greater exposure risk to interest rate changes. But the risks are mitigated from recent job additions of more than 70,000 in the past 12 months.”

POPULATION INCREASES AND HIGH LEVELS OF EMPLOYMENT GENERALLY BODE WELL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.
According to the Arizona Blue Chip Economic Forecast, the state is expected to experience an employment growth rate of 3.8 percent for wage positions in 2006. The net migration for the Phoenix area alone is 107 percent higher than that of the country’s other top metropolitan areas. This figure represents "slowth” over the more impressive 2005 figures, but a decent performance nonetheless.

The construction industry accounts for more than 8 percent of Arizona’s total employment and was the top growth sector in the state in 2005, increasing at an annual rate of more than 11 percent. Analysts expect that rate to fall back to a more reasonable 9 percent in 2006, still well ahead of the national average.

SOME SPECIFIC EMPLOYMENT LEVELS DO NOT BODE WELL FOR ARIZONA CONTACTORS.
"By far the No. 1 cost issue for Arizona construction firms will be finding enough skilled labor to meet demand,” says David N. Jones, president of the Arizona Contractors Association. "Labor shortages will drive up payroll costs and slow delivery times as contractors compete for an increasingly limited pool of qualified manpower. The dilemma in regards to Arizona’s population growth is that many of the people are coming here for retirement, not to find work.” The Arizona Department of Commerce projects that the state will be facing a deficit of 40,000 skilled construction workers by 2013.

Two more challenges face residential contractors. There will be continued high demand for commercial development across the state, driven largely by Arizona’s thriving tourism industry. This will increase wages and limit the available manpower. In addition, the state is calling for a $1.5 million increase in highway maintenance workload in 2006, which includes 170 miles of new construction. This will also draw workers away from the residential construction market. "Transportation construction will continue to be a major opportunity area because we need the roads, bridges and light rail systems to get people around,” says Jones. "Infrastructure is essential to the ongoing health of the overall economy.” On the bright side, more infrastructure means more accessible land for residential development.

Industry expert Tom Rex of the Seidman Research Institute has the last word. "We’re at that point in the economic cycle where things are pretty good, and we’re looking for continued strong performance in 2006. There has been a real building boom in the past three years, with a corresponding run up in price. Real estate has gone from being affordable to being slightly above the national average. Those rates will continue an upward trend next year as the Fed increases interest rates. But overall, things still look very good for the state.” And overall, that’s what matters.

ECONOMIC FORECAST—CALIFORNIA (Back to top)
During the past four years, the Golden State has seen nothing but economic blue sky. The construction industry has been strong. Unemployment has been low. Consumer confidence has been high. In short, when it came to the fifth largest economy in the world, the sky was the limit.

At least, that was the perception. Now there are a few clouds on California’s commercial horizon and they may actually rain on its present parade. For example:

HOMES IN CALIFORNIA ARE BECOMING LESS AFFORDABLE FOR STATE RESIDENTS.
"Up ticks in interest rates, coupled with continued increases in the median home price, will push affordability in California to an all-time annual low of 15 percent in 2006,” says California Association of Realtors deputy chief economist Robert Kleinhenz.

A SHORTAGE OF AFFORDABLE HOMES WILL PUSH PRICES EVEN HIGHER.
"The double-digit increase in the projected median price of a home is largely the result of an ongoing shortage of housing and land across much of the state,” says Kleinhenz. The CAR projects a 10 percent increase in median home prices, to $575,500 in 2006, while total home sales are expected to fall by approximately 2 percent. California, on average, gains approximately 250,000 new households annually but will build only about 200,000 new housing units this year.

THE STATE’S NEW TITLE 24 ENERGY EFFICIENCY CODE WILL PUSH THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING EVEN HIGHER.
While California is expected to save about $43 billion in energy costs due to the implementation of Title 24, the costs affiliated with the code will fall largely on the backs of homebuilders, remodelers and new home buyers. Any home (or remodel) with a permit dated after Oct. 1, 2005, has to meet stringent new rules for lighting in kitchens, nooks, garages, utility rooms, hallways, etc. This is projected to add $1.25 per square foot to the cost of a new home. The new regulations will also make it difficult for contractors to generate accurate bids. This will cause them to bid more conservatively and/or do more work on a T&M basis, which in turn will lead to higher consumer costs and cause significant consumer and lender resistance.

INCREASED MATERIAL AND LABOR COSTS WILL LEAD TO A MORE CHALLENGING BIDDING ENVIRONMENT.
"The most significant cost driver in 2006 will be the fact that contractors are becoming less willing to absorb the risk of market fluctuations,” says Peter Morris, principal analyst with Davis Langdon. "Contractors are becoming very nervous about getting locked into a single price where they have to absorb increases in material costs and labor for the next three years.”

Hurricane Katrina was a wakeup call to many contractors. "There is likely to be some sustained pressure on wood product supplies,” predicts Langdon. "We expect to see sporadic price increases of up to 20 percent for dimensional lumber and approximately 30 percent for panel products. Due to increased competition with China and record new home construction, gypsum board has experienced regional shortages and price spikes. We expect that trend to continue as a result of reconstruction work, with price increases ranging between 15 and 20 percent.”

A shortage of skilled labor (particularly at the foreman level) will also cause headaches for California’s contractors. "Continued demand for new construction, combined with an overall shortage of subcontractors to do the work, will drive noticeably higher bid rates in markets that have been sluggish for a while,” says Morris. "Gone are the days when California’s construction market could pull skilled labor over the border from states like Nevada. Those states are now experiencing booming markets of their own.”

The UCLA Anderson Forecast predicts that the California state economy will weaken gradually over the next two years, experiencing a "soft landing,” as opposed to the hard crash that was experienced at the end of the 1990s. "As interest rates continue to increase, the economy will slow across California and the rest of the nation,” says Ryan Ratcliff, economist for UCLA Anderson Forecast. "We’re expecting relatively lackluster economic growth of around 2.5 percent for 2005.”

ECONOMIC FORECAST—COLORADO (Back to top)
Thanks to everything from tort reform to population increases to minimal construction restrictions, the long-term forecast for Colorado is a "Rocky Mountain High.” The year 2006, however, may be a little too rocky for some local homebuilders, remodelers and the people they employ. To quote a cliche, what goes up —including home appreciation rates, housing starts, employment, etc.—must come down.

This year, the high and low points for the Rocky Mountain State are expected to involve a variety of construction concerns. For example:

COLORADO IS STILL A RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE PLACE TO BUY A HOME.
Home prices in the Denver Metro Region are expected to maintain their current level or increase only slightly in 2006, which is great news for homebuyers and improves consumer confidence. In 2005, Colorado ranked 45th in housing appreciation with a one-year increase of only 5.5 percent. Nationwide, the figure for housing appreciation was a more robust 12.2 percent. Of all the cities included in a recent study by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Greeley, had the nation’s second lowest level of home appreciation, 2.2 percent, over the last 12 months.

Bottom line is that even if interest rates climb in 2006 as expected, the overall cost of purchasing a home in Colorado should remain within the reach of many residents, not to mention the thousands of out-of-state buyers who seek second homes with Colorado’s outdoor ambience.

COLORADO HOUSING IS STILL AFFORDABLE.
The key measurement of housing affordability is the mortgage debt servicing cost-to-income ratio, which in Colorado is quite favorable. In the Colorado Springs area, for example, the MSCI ratio is 17 percent, while the nation’s top 20 metropolitan areas show an average of 30 percent. In addition, the area’s home price-to-income ratio is only 2.4. The nation’s 20 top metropolitan area is a far less affordable 3.8.

Will overall affordability mean increased construction activity? Surprisingly, the short-term predictions are not good. The National Association of Homebuilders is forecasting a drop in the number of single-family housing starts in Colorado of 8.1 percent in 2006 and a drop of overall housing starts of 6.6 percent. If accurate, this means 3,000 fewer housing units will be built statewide in 2006.

COLORADO SHOULD MAINTAIN ITS ECONOMIC POSITION.
"2006 will be the same as 2005 in terms of economic growth,” says Bill Kendall, president of the Center for Business and Economic Forecasting in Denver. However, he is looking for improvement in the Colorado economy. Net migration numbers (the number of people who move to the state versus the number who leave) are expected to continue the upward trend started in 2003. A forecast released by U.S. Bank concludes that Colorado will enjoy modest economic growth in 2006 due, in part, to three areas of the state’s economy: mining, tourism and defense. Non-farm employment is also expected to rise by 2.1 percent.

LEGISLATION TO MINIMIZE DAMAGES RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS WILL DECREASE BUSINESS RISK FOR CONTRACTORS.
Colorado recently did away with treble damage awards on construction defects, a good first step in protecting the construction industry in Colorado, according to state Sen. Thomas Wiens, a Republican from Douglas County. "Now we need to put real teeth into correcting the problem of the trial lawyers who use frivolous lawsuits against homebuilders and are driving up the cost of homes in Colorado,” says Wiens. "Frivolous litigation is still a major problem and adds significantly to the burden placed on the industry; and, in the end, costs homebuyers money. It’s a hidden tax collected by lawyers.”

Most of the concerns raised vis-à-vis Colorado’s 2006 economy are echoed in other areas of the country. Mortgage rates are going up and that certainly has an impact on economic activity. The increased cost of construction materials will take a toll. The Associated General Contractors of America is so alarmed by the increase in materials costs over the last 12 months, they have issued a supplemental report titled AGC’s Construction Inflation Alert. It concluded that the global building boom and events like hurricanes Katrina and Rita will continue to exert upward price pressures on the cost of construction materials. Infrastructure availability – in Colorado’s case, a lack of water – will be an important issue.

That said, Rocky Mountain State homebuilders have learned to expect highs and lows in the construction industry. Every indication is that despite a short-term slowing of activity in 2006, there are good times ahead.

ECONOMIC FORECAST—IDAHO (Back to top)
When economic forecasters consider Idaho in 2006, they see red. That’s because for the past few years, everything’s been coming up roses in the Idaho residential construction market. While the economy may not grow quite as quickly in 2006, it’s not exactly going to get nipped in the bud. Of particular interest to local homebuilders and remodelers:

HOUSING IN IDAHO CONTINUES TO BE FAIRLY AFFORDABLE.
Idaho home values are rising more slowly than home values in other western states. According to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Idaho’s residential properties increased an average of 15.08 percent in value last year, the 12th highest appreciation rate in the nation. Idaho followed Arizona (No. 1), California (No. 6), Nevada (No. 8), Oregon (No. 9) and Washington (No. 10). It’s no surprise that Westerners looking for more affordable housing are flocking to Idaho. According to the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, Ada County alone, which has seen its population grow every year since 1990, is expected to have a population growth of 13 percent between 2000 and 2015.

In 2005, the mortgage debt servicing cost-to-income ratio of 14 percent in the Boise area was much better than the national average of 30 percent for major metropolitan areas or the national average of 16 percent. The home price-to-income ratio of 1.9 also compares favorably to that of other major metropolitan areas (3.8) or the national average (2.3). These favorable figures are expected to last throughout 2006 and, most likely, through 2007 and 2008.

THE DEMAND FOR INVESTMENT HOUSING WILL REMAIN STRONG THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
Despite some softening in the rental market due to overproduction, the out-of-state demand for 1031 exchange and rental property will continue to propel the Idaho market upward through 2006. In Ada and Canyon counties, competitively priced homes are selling within 10 days of being put on the market. The hottest properties for new home and investment buyers are three- or four-bedroom homes in the $190,000 to $220,000 price range. Most have 1,800 to 2,000 square feet, although consumers have shown a willingness to trade square footage for upgrades such as granite countertops, hardwood floors and commercial quality appliances.

INCREASED EMPLOYMENT WILL LEAD TO INCREASED HOUSING DEMAND.
Over the past 12 months, the Boise-Nampa area has added 9,000 new jobs. In comparison, over the past five years the area added only 32,000 single-family residential units. Since 2002, the area has seen its "month’s supply of homes on the market” decrease to a current low of four months, its lowest point in 24 years. If the downward trend continues, demand will soon overrun supply.

WATER AVAILABILITY WILL CONTINUE TO BE A CHALLENGE STATEWIDE.
Water availability, and not higher mortgage interest rates, may be the biggest challenge to residential growth in Idaho over the next few years. According to Michael Keckler, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Water Resources, "In 2005, proposed new construction and developments have been successfully challenged by senior water-rights users downstream. Eastern Idaho and the Idaho Falls areas, specifically, have seen water restrictions. Eastern Idaho has been ordered to reduce water consumption by over 27,000 acre feet, and some pumps on the upper Snake were curtailed. As growth continues in the state, other areas may also face similar water challenges. Although water rights may be bought and sold, that [very process] increases water costs.” The problem: small builders don’t have the resources to fight prolonged water-rights battles. Big developers, who do have the resources to fight, may not have the time.

LAND AVAILABILITY WILL BECOME AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM FOR IDAHO HOMEBUILDERS.
According to Robert Hall, president of the Idaho Association of Mortgage Brokers, subdivision and platting requirements are taking so long, (about 24 months from purchase to start of construction), that finding enough lots zoned for residential construction is becoming a major challenge. In response, larger builders are buying and developing more closed subdivisions. This has a major negative impact on small builders, who often don’t have the construction, managerial or financial capabilities to handle the development side of the housing equation.

Boise and the rest of Ada County have set a moratorium on all infill projects and are rejecting or restricting the placement of narrow two-story affordable housing between older large ranch homes. If other cities adopt similar practices, small builders will have to go even further afield to find available and affordable lots.

Scott Benson, professor of economics at Idaho State University, puts it all into perspective. "Construction is booming in the state,” says Benson. "We anticipate some slowdown in 2006 but nothing major. However, beyond one year [the economic forecast] is not so rosy.”

ECONOMIC FORECAST—NEVADA (Back to top)

HOUSING STARTS AND THE DEMAND FOR HOUSING WILL BE UP SUBSTANTIALLY IN 2006.
"While the overall state economy may slow slightly in response to market adjustments, the construction business is booming," says Rick DeMar, CEO of the Builders’ Association of Western Nevada. "Nevada will gain approximately 100,000 new residents in 2006, creating demand for a minimum of 35,000 new housing units.”

Despite inflationary pressure, escalating real estate costs and volatile water-rights issues, Nevada is the fastest growing state in the union. This year housing permits are expected to increase by 4.6 percent to approximately 34,000. According to Nevada Department of Employment projections, there will continue to be dramatic growth in the construction industry. The need for key trade positions, such as framers, carpenters, masons and electricians, will increase by as much as 26 percent during the year.

HOUSING COSTS ARE NOT INCREASING AS QUICKLY AS THEY HAVE BEEN.
In 2005, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Nevada had no metropolitan areas in the nation’s top 20 for housing appreciation. That’s the first time in three years that Nevada hasn’t made the list. Las Vegas home prices grew only 13.8 percent over the last 12 months, placing it 77th. Statewide, home prices were up 17.59 over the past 12 months; 99 percent over the past three years.

GROWTH IS SPREADING OUT OVER A GREATER NUMER OF COMMUNITIES.
As places like Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City have become more populated, development has migrated to more remote communities. "Southern Nevada’s economy is really moving at an incredible rate,” says Bengte Evenson, associate director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research. "We’re expecting to see around 7 percent growth in personal income with a slightly slower 4.5 percent population growth in 2006. We anticipate a lot of growth in the northern and eastern parts of the state in 2006, as high real estate prices and water issues send developers looking for cheaper land.”

DeMar predicts that communities along the I-80 corridor, like Winnemucca and Lovelock, will be the next boom areas due to the relatively low real estate costs and commute-friendly locations. The demand for new housing will be especially acute in areas like Lyon County, which is expected to have over 20 percent growth rate. (NOTE: This population-driven demand will not stop at single-family dwellings. There will also be an increased demand for multifamily housing, high-rise condominiums and low-cost apartments.)

AFFORDABILITY WILL BE A PROBLEM FOR MANY NEVADA CITIZENS.
Although Nevada has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past three years, the median household income has remained relatively flat at $47,700 a year, due to the state’s reliance on tourist dollars. According to state figures, only 15 percent of Nevada residents will be able to afford to buy a home at the 2006 median price. As a result, housing shortages combined with rising interest rates will decrease affordability across the state.

WATER AVAILABILITY WILL BE A PROBLEM FOR NEVADA HOMEBUILDERS.
Many experts believe that the lack of water could limit Nevada’s residential growth over the long term. "Not a day goes by that we’re not talking about water-rights issues,” says DeMar. In Lyon County, on the western border of California, water rights have jumped to $20,000 an acre foot and, in Washoe County there are reports of $55,000 per acre foot of water.

THE AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WILL BE A PROBLEM FOR MANY NEVADA HOMEBUILDERS.
The year-round construction season and rapid growth in Nevada mean that the construction industry will be hard pressed to find enough labor to satisfy demand. "The challenge to find enough skilled labor will result in higher employment costs and longer project delivery times,” says Peter Morris, principal analyst with Davis Langdon. "Construction industry workers will be able to command higher pay rates and better benefit packages, especially those with refined skills.” The Nevada Department of Employment expects demand for concrete workers and masons to increase by 26 percent, with electricians seeing a 23 percent jump in demand.

Perhaps Evenson says it best. "We’re not expecting a bubble burst as much as a noticeable softening of the previously stratospheric real estate market. This is because the state economy is driven in large part by entertainment and tourism industries. Overall, the state’s economic outlook for 2006 still looks very robust.” In other words, when it comes to the housing market, Nevada is a safe bet.

ECONOMIC FORECAST—OREGON (Back to top)
There are five things in Oregon that will make life challenging for homebuilders in 2006: rain (up to 200 inches a year in the Coast Range), precipitation, downpours, showers and Oregon’s stringent land-use laws. Most contractors have learned to deal with the first four. Everyone fights the fifth.

Homebuilders will face multiple issues in 2006 in addition to the aforementioned five:

HOUSING IN OREGON IS STILL RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE.
Although Oregon had the ninth highest housing appreciation rate in the United States (16.92 percent over the last year; 51.21 percent over the last three) housing is still fairly affordable. According to the National Association of Realtors, the Portland/Beaverton area’s mortgage debt servicing cost-to-income ratio of 18 percent is quite favorable. The average for the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan areas is 30 percent. Portland/Beaverton’s home price-to-income ratio of 2.5 also compares well to other large population centers, which have an average HIR of 3.8.

THE DEMAND FOR HOUSING WILL KEEP THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY STRONG.
According to the OR DAS Oregon Economic Summary, "Housing starts in Oregon are expected to increase again in 2006 before leveling in 2007 and dropping off in 2008. Construction shows an increase in jobs at a strong 7.7 percent in 2005. Job growth will continue at a milder pace with 1.9 percent in 2006 and 2.2 percent in 2007.” According to NAR, the Portland region added "only” 54,000 single-family housing units in the last five years. In the last 12 months alone, the area added 22,000 new jobs. More jobs means there is a need for more housing.

NUMEROUS OREGON CITIES, COUNTIES AND THE STATE PROPOSED AND/OR APPROVED ORDINANCES WITH THE END RESULT OF MORE LIMITED LAND AVAILABILITY/FUNCTIONALITY AND HIGHER COSTS.
The list of additional land-use restrictions proposed in 2005 that will affect builders in 2006 is mind-boggling. Examples include home razing fees, systems development charges on replacement or remodeled buildings, stricter rezoning limits/requirements, ordinances that limit mobile home park owners from selling their land to residential developers, etc. As a result, it’s getting more difficult for homebuilders to obtain lots of lots. In particular, HB 2484 tightens the rules for land annexation and will make 2006, and the years beyond, even more difficult than previous years. The reduction of annexations, however, won’t change land supply in the short term, as it typically takes years for an annexation to be approved in Oregon.

LAND-USE RESTRICTIONS CONTINUE TO MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR SMALL BUILDERS TO COMPETE.
Oregon’s land-use laws make it difficult, if not impossible, for small builders to work outside the incorporated areas. They either have to buy large tracts of land and get into the "development business,” which many contractors don’t have the financial experience for, or they can purchase individual lots within the UGB, lots that are becoming both scarce and more valuable.

"Small builders are being shut out due to land-use planning,” says Paul E. Davis, a contractor in the Mid-Willamette Valley. "Developers, whether they are the small local developers or the national companies, control all the property and the only incorporated areas don’t let small builders in. Buildable lots are completed and there are none left. This problem is not going to go away, it will only get worse.”

The lack of large land tracts makes it difficult for all builders to achieve the economies of scale possible in production building. According to David Foster of Oregon Housing and Community Services, "One-hundred-acre developments in Oregon are considered huge. Most parcels are small and every development is custom. Mass development [is meant to] work with lower margins, keeping housing prices down, but anecdotal land costs in Oregon are mind-boggling.”

TORT REFORM COULD REDUCE COSTS AND CONCERNS FOR OREGON HOMEBUILDERS.
A bill sent to the Oregon House would require plaintiffs to file claims within six years of initial construction. A House-mandated task force is studying the relationship between construction claims and industry practices, construction defects, consumer protection and state-mandated requirements for contractors. The Oregon Construction Contractors Board noted that the cost of construction liability rates jumped 165 percent in a 12-month period.

The statewide press has made Oregon’s licensing for contractors something of a "cause celebre.” The Oregonian newspaper, for example, noted that the Oregon Construction Contractor’s Board has a $50 filing fee for consumer complaints, making it the only agency in the western United States that charges one. The contractors’ bond requirements, a maximum of $15,000, dwarfs Arizona’s $105,000 high-end figure. Oregon contractors are required to take 16 hours of business education and pass an exam; California requires a criminal check, four years’ supervisory experience, and a passing grade on business and trade-specific skill tests.

ECONOMIC FORECAST—TEXAS (Back to top)
Ever since the 1930s, when the first GTT (Going To Texas) signs appeared on abandoned Southern shacks, Texas has been a magnet for people in search of opportunities, options and optimism. Things haven’t changed all that much. Opportunities, options and optimism are still prevalent in the Lone Star state. They were big in Texas 2005 and experts say that, for the most part, the good times will continue to roll for homebuilders and remodelers in Texas 2006.

There are positive signs everywhere you look:

TEXAS HOUSING REMAINS RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE.
According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices in Houston, for example, lag behind the national average by 30 percent. Texas’ mortgage debt servicing ratio of 11 percent is also well under the national average of 16 percent. The median price for a home in Texas rose only 6.6 percent last year, well under the appreciation seen in most other states.

While Texas had a large supply of vacant housing units in early 2005, Hurricane Katrina evacuees readily absorbed them. Even if interest rates climb, the affordability of Texas housing should keep the market moving. The Texas Housing Affordability Index is currently 1.14 compared to a national average of .66, so people in search of properties (second homes being one increasing source of sales) will continue to find Texas a good place to look.

THERE IS OPTIMISM IN THE MARKET.
Statewide, housing starts increased over the last three years and could continue to climb in 2006. According to the Texas Real Estate Center, Dallas County issued 8,727 permits for single-family housing in the first 10 months of 2004; 8,855 were issued for the first 10 months of 2005 (the most recent dates for which confirmed data is available). This was in spite of up ticks in mortgage interest rates. Similar increases were experienced statewide. Texas ranked in the top 10 states for residential housing permits issued.

A LIMITED HOUSING SUPPLY MEANS AN INCREASING DEMAND FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
Single-family home sales in October 2005 were 1,031 units higher than similar-size sales in October 2004. Of equal importance, though, is the number of homes available for sale. This figure, according to Multiple Listing Service data, is down slightly – a drop between September and October 2005 of only 246 units. It should continue to drop throughout 2006. The number of months inventory is down as well from 5.9 in September to 5.4 months in October. If these three trends continue, as predicted, it will be good news for homebuilders in 2006.

POPULATION INCREASES WILL LEAD TO AN INCREASED NEED FOR HOUSING.
"Texas expects to see an increase in employment, in particular, due to 2005’s natural disasters,” says Lyssa Jenkens, chief economist for the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce. "With the growing global demand for oil and natural gas, the state’s economy promises to continue growing.”

TAX REFORM MAY HELP HOMEBUILDERS.
"We have seen the fees charged homebuilders rise exponentially over the last few years,” says Scott Norman, general counsel for the Texas Builders Association. He noted that one Texas municipality with an operating budget of only $4.6 million collected $7.7 million in fees from local homebuilders. "Rising fees are a serious issue that needs reform.”

In 2005, legislation was approved by the state House that would limit the amount of money governmental bodies could assess on homebuilders to a figure that actually reflected the services they received. While the bill didn’t pass the Senate last year there are hopes that it will do better the next time around. To quote one TBA member, "At least the legislature is looking at the problem rather than looking away. You’ve got to start somewhere.”

While nationwide there are signs of slowing in the residential construction market, and press pundits predict all kinds of problems, the industry in Texas seems poised to do well throughout 2006. Texas may not have an economy the size of California’s, but it’s big enough to deal with the inherent industry ups and downs. As the locals say, "Don’t mess with Texas!”

ECONOMIC FORECAST—UTAH (Back to top)
Sometimes where you end up is a function of where you begin. That’s certainly true when it comes to Utah, a state that’s starting 2006 from a position of relative economic strength. RISMedia, the real estate investment publishing company, recently projected Salt Lake City would be one of the hottest U.S. real estate markets in 2006 based on the company’s proprietary survey of units, occupancies, vacancies and demand.

Consider some of Utah’s economic power points:

HOUSING IN UTAH CONTINUES TO BE RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE.
The market for single-family homes is likely to remain strong in Utah throughout 2006. A report from the National Association of Realtors shows that home prices in Salt Lake City are 20 percent lower than the national average and are likely to remain below the median for years to come. As a result, despite increasing interest rates, many renters can still qualify for home loans. The state has slightly fewer than 200,000 renter-occupied housing units.

HOUSING IN UTAH CONTINUES TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR THE AVERAGE CITIZEN.
Utah’s mortgage debt servicing cost-to-income ratio is well under historic levels of 20 percent and more than 10 percentage points under the national average. In short, Utah homes are not just inexpensive; Utah residents have the wherewithal to buy them. So do people purchasing a second home, an increasing phenomenon in the Utah real estate market. Utah is a place where supply and demand meet at a financially viable point.

UTAH RESIDENTS HAVE A "BIAS” TOWARD HOME OWNERSHIP.
According to the most recent U.S. Census figures, roughly 26 percent of Utah’s citizenry live in rental units. The national rate is 18 percent higher. Statewide, the average number of people per family is 3.67, compared to the national figure of only 3.16. This also leads to a higher-than-average desire for home ownership. A strong demand usually leads to a strong market.

THE UTAH POPULATION CONTINUES TO GROW, AND THE HOUSING MARKET MUST GROW WITH IT.
Utah’s population grew to 2.5 million in late 2005, a total increase of 29.62 percent over the past 16 years. More important, there was a positive increase in population each of those years. According to census figures, there are slightly more than 505,000 single-family housing units available in the state. Unless the average family size decreases by a third, Utah will have to build a lot more homes in the next decade. Interesting note: the median age for a home—that’s the home, not the homeowner—in Utah is 29 years. The median age nationwide is 35.

UTAH EMPLOYMENT FIGURES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE.
Many experts are betting that Utah’s employment figures will continue to be robust throughout 2006. The National Association of Realtors expects Utah’s economy to add another 25,000 non-farm (e.g., above-average income) jobs over the 24-month period commencing October 2005. NAR isn’t alone in its positive predictions.

"Utah is expecting strong job growth to continue,” says Mark Knold, senior economist with Workforce Services for Utah. "A conservative estimate of 3.4 percent wage growth is anticipated in 2006.” Jeff Thredgold, an economist with Zion’s Bank, wrote in his 2006 economic forecast for Utah, "We expect solid employment gains to continue during the next 18 months. The state’s air transportation sector holds particular promise for the future as it gains additional traffic.” At $42.30 per hour, Utah’s air traffic controllers receive the eighth highest wage in the state.

There are a few clouds on the Utah horizon, clouds that could rain on the state’s 2006 economic parade. According to Carol Sap of the Southern Utah Home Builders Association, land availability—78 percent of the land in Southern Utah is public land—is fast becoming a concern for contractors. So are stringent zoning regulations that often allow for only 12 units per acre. Sapp also believes that more affordable housing needs to be built if the area is to successfully recruit and retain teachers, policemen and construction framers. "Wages have increased 25 percent and that should affect the construction industry,” says Sapp.

Inflation could be a problem for Utah (as well as the other 49 states!). "Inflation at the consumer level remained moderate last month, but many construction inputs are going through the proverbial roof,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson in a statement released with his 2006 cost forecast. "I’m concerned that price spikes and supply shortages will continue in 2006.”

Finally, Utah has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in bankruptcy filings, largely because Utah homeowners are younger than the national average. For the second quarter of 2005, bankruptcy filings were up 6 percent more than 2004 figures. In Utah, one household in 38 has declared bankruptcy. In Tennessee, the No. 2 state, the figure is one in 40. If this trend continues through 2006, Utah homebuilders and remodelers may find themselves in a building bind.

ECONOMIC FORECAST—WASHINGTON (Back to top)
For the past three years, the Evergreen State was everybody’s favorite when it came to the residential construction industry. Increasing populations, increasing median incomes and increasing employment led to an increasingly profitable housing market. The state’s many economic facets made it the crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest.

While growth statewide is expected to slow somewhat, the construction industry should do well through 2006. Of major interest to the industry:

THE HOUSING MARKET IS WORKING FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH.
According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University, "The total number of homes sold during the first quarter of 2005 represented more homes than ever sold during the opening quarter of any year; for example, there was a 12.7 percent increase compared to 2004. Sales activity was more than double a year ago in two smaller counties (Wahkiakum and Whitman) and at least 20 percent ahead of last year in 14 counties.

The median price for an existing home in the state jumped another 13.4 percent to a record $238,900. The highest local median was $407,500 in San Juan County, while the lowest was $85,900 in Okanogan County, one of only two markets in the state remaining below $100,000 for a typical home. Among the metropolitan markets, the most expensive homes were in King County ($348,200 median) while the least costly were in Yakima ($120,800 median). Twenty-two counties reported price increases in excess of 10 percent compared to the first quarter of 2004. Prices were at least modestly above the first quarter of last year.

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IS DOWN FOR WASHINGTONIANS.
Affordability has been a building bugaboo in Washington for a number of years. In 2005, the Housing Affordability Index declined again to 111.98, its lowest level since 2000. Translation: a typical family has an 11.8 percent income cushion for the purchase of a median price home. According to the WCRER, buyers in four counties now face affordability conditions where a median-income household would need to purchase a home below the median price or have a larger down payment. The first-time buyer affordability index for the first quarter stood at 64.9, its lowest level since 1997. This suggests homeownership rates in Washington may begin to decline in the years ahead.

HOME CONSTRUCTION SHOULD REMAIN FAIRLY STABLE THROUGHOUT 2006.
According to Rick Kaglic, Washington state Chief Economist, "Of 85,000 new jobs in the state, 19,000 were in construction. Construction was 6 percent of total payroll and 20 percent of total growth in payroll. Some indication to growth slowing is present and the construction industry is not expected to carry the burden [of future growth]. No decline is expected but slower growth [is a possibility].”

ECONOMIC GROWTH IS NOT AS WIDESPREAD AS IT HAS BEEN IN SOME OTHER STATES.
Economic growth in Washington tends to be limited to a few specific counties, despite the large amounts of economic aid that is available statewide. Of special note is Whatcom County, which is enjoying a construction boom related to Vancouver, B.C.’s, 2010 Winter Olympic games. With both state and private funds pouring into this area for the next four years, the county will be reasonably immune to any rapid recessionary trends. On the downside, many of the state’s skilled construction workers have headed to Canada to take advantage of the country’s shortage of skilled construction workers. This will mean local labor shortages, increased wages and longer project timelines.

LAND-USE RESTRICTIONS ARE MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT FOR HOMEBUILDERS.
Land-use restrictions in Washington are the second most stringent in the nation and appear to be in a battle for first place, if new restrictions regarding "rural residential” in King and neighboring Pierce counties are any indication. The Pierce County Council, in a unanimous bipartisan vote, adopted an ordinance that, as of Jan. 1, requires rural residential landowners to keep 65 percent of their land in native vegetation.

INCREASED COSTS WILL HAMPER SOME HOMEBUILDERS.
It’s no great surprise that, post Hurricane Katrina, some building materials will be in short supply and the cost of others will go up. According to Tom Chisholm of New Zealand-based Holcim Concrete, "Concrete shortages have been present due to strong construction. Consumption in 2005 [was] higher than in 2004.” Ironically, Washington has some good news on the concrete front. Holcim has obtained a variance from the state of Utah, allowing the company to increase production at its Devil’s Slide plant. (All Holcim plants in the United States are currently running at maximum capacity.) The company has distribution points in Washington and Idaho, which may help local contractors get first call on available supplies.

Bottom line: Washington’s evergreens may be the only thing in the state that experiences major growth in 2006. Economically speaking, the state may be in for a seasonal slump. ]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=311 ...

ARIZONA
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
IDAHO
NEVADA
OREGON
TEXAS
UTAH
WASHINGTON

NATIONAL NEWS & TRENDS

MANUFACTURERS/DISTRIBUTORS/RETAILERS

REGIONAL

Arizona (Back to top)

Artisan contractors comprise two-thirds of the construction sector in Arizona. Yet, the state is one of five with the highest insurance risks for artisan residential contractors, primarily because of the number of alleged home defects. Trades requiring the greatest expertise include framing, roofing, plumbing, heating and air conditioning and excavation. These are also designated as riskier in nature, and their subcontractors have found liability insurance consistently higher in price and harder to obtain. Only tort reform for the entire construction industry will change this trend.

Homebuyers in Phoenix saw price gains of 55.2 percent in the third quarter, versus 14.7 percent nationally, compared to the prior year. The state as a whole saw the greatest change nationally between personal income gain and home price appreciation during the second quarter. Economists are most concerned with this type of gain since cooling markets cause prices to drop sharply and leave purchasers with mortgages higher than the fallen value of their home. Foreclosure rates remain very low statewide, with 1,109 foreclosures as of Nov. 1 and only 150 new foreclosures during October.

A paint called Insuladd has been released through a NASA technology exchange program and has proven highly effective in reducing heating and cooling costs. The product, which may be applied to interior or exterior walls, reflects over 85 percent of radiant heat and reduces home energy costs by over 20 percent. In addition, the non-toxic formula containing a blend of hollow ceramic microspheres that can be mixed with any type of paint, stucco or drywall finishes. The product has been shown to be more cost-effective than any other form of radiant barrier.

Median home prices are about $229,500 in the Phoenix area, with roughly 25 percent of purchases made by out-of-state buyers. Just 30 minutes away in Rio Verde, out-of-state purchases double to a whopping 53 percent. Concerns of "froth” in these markets have been expressed by Alan Greenspan, as prices may become unsustainably high. The typical buyer was a Californian purchasing investment property, a trend that shows no slowing down due to excess equity in that state.

Nationwide, 10 percent of the construction workforce is made up of women. Arizona and Utah had greater increases in women-owned firms during the last decade. Of the 52,242 licenses regulated by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, 1,600 are held by women. ROC has developed programs and financial incentives to encourage licensing by women in the industry.

Florence officials are expected to approve a 2 percent construction tax in addition to the existing 2 percent tax throughout Pinal County. Conservative estimates show that city revenue generated from the new tax would be $200,000 annually. Some 71,000 new homes are projected to be built in the area. As state laws do not cap construction sales taxes, more municipalities have added construction taxes.

The largest design-build water project in North America is well underway just northeast of Phoenix. The first phase of the Lake Pleasant Water Treatment Plant is scheduled to start providing additional drinking water for 100,000 homes in the northern Phoenix area in early 2007. An additional 200,000 residences will be served upon completion of additional phases. With the explosive growth in the metropolitan area, the plant will come online none too soon.

Arizona showed a 4 percent employment gain for 2005, the second strongest in the nation, trailing only Nevada. A majority of this was due to a 12.2 percent increase in construction. The Western states dramatically led the rest of the nation in employment stability and construction employment gains.

Rising construction costs are expected to adversely affect bond projects in the Gilbert School District. Of the $120 million bond, all projects show sharp projected increases and some projects may remain incomplete. Estimates of repair costs at Mesquite Junior High have increased from $4.5 million to a current projection of $7 million. Gravel costs have risen by 75 percent, and asphalt and concrete by 50 percent.

Tucson Builder Finds Niche

As a niche builder in the robust Tucson market, Golden Star Properties’ CEO Joseph Smith feels that his company is somewhat shielded from rising interest rates and the upcoming increases in land and building costs. Several years ago, Smith began reviewing options for his construction company and made the decision to expand his in-house realty team, marketing efforts and Web site. In his words, "So far, so good.”

In fact, Golden Star Properties has grown dramatically in the past six years, and Smith attributes three-quarters of all sales to the company Web site. Having an in-house brokerage team and in-house designers also helps maintain profitability. Although available land is getting scarce, Smith says "our in-house realty brokerage team is able to work with customers to find available parcels.” Builders without this capability are at a definite disadvantage. Similarly, building custom homes designed in-house helps keep costs low and allows for greater flexibility. The average home built by the company sells for around $500,000 (excluding land costs).

Two-thirds of company sales are from out-of-state purchasers, mostly retirees with money. These purchasers will continue to have money, and since Smith’s business doesn’t rely on local homebuyers wanting to upgrade existing homes, he is subject only minimally to downturns in the market. A few of the homes are purchased by investors buying the homes to flip upon completion. These, he believes, will be more affected by a downturn.

The recent shutdown and kiln repair at the Arizona Portland Cement plant in Marana caused problems for Golden Star, as well as for all other Arizona builders. Smith commented, "We could not pour concrete or build block walls for weeks. We couldn’t buy concrete at any price—it was a six-week wait from date of order.” The plant was offline for two days, and the repairs were planned a year in advance, but the drop in production compounded existing shortages. Golden Star worked out a deal to bring in supplies from outside the area until availability loosens up. Their farsighted approach to Internet marketing, combined with horizontal market integration, has made Golden Star Properties a market player.

California (Back to top)

As of November 2004, the allocation of 11 new investigators to the Contractors State License Board has reduced the number of contractors operating illegally. The board is now operating in conjunction with the Statewide Investigative Fraud Team and local law enforcement agencies. Underground construction activity, such as payments to employees under the table, creates local economic losses estimated between $60 and $140 billion statewide annually.

Writers and builders with negative attitudes toward Title 24 may be doing the trade an injustice. California is the world’s 17th largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, and the 10th largest consumer of energy. When faced with a similar crisis, Nevada adopted stringent restrictions regarding water usage. Between 2002 and 2004, total water consumption in Southern Nevada dropped 20 billion gallons, despite an influx of 168,000 residents, and while the region still faces a prolonged drought, residential development is no longer restricted by the lack of water. Title 24 restrictions will increase construction costs, but these pale when compared to surges in land prices. In the end, Title 24 may well be viewed by builders as a vital part of state economics.

A record $22.6 million settlement for a toxic mold lawsuit is expected to increase construction litigation in the state. In many ways, the settlement is considered to have far-ranging effects. This is the first toxic mold trial considered successful in linking mold and severe permanent illness. Medical documentation has shown the association between mold and asthma in the past. Another issue unusual in mold litigation, and another setback for the industry, was the inclusion of suppliers in the suit, where even a sheet metal company was held to be liable. Crenshaw Lumber Co., one of 17 defendants, paid the lion’s share for allegedly storing framing studs improperly. The majority of an estimated 10,000 mold lawsuits in the United States are in California. Insurance companies are excluding mold-related claims, leaving builders exposed to the risks. With lawyers and expert witnesses relocating to the Golden State, the Gold Rush has resumed.

Subcontractors gained some relief from lawsuits, as builders are now prohibited from using Type I indemnity provisions against them. For residential construction only, AB758 makes void and unenforceable all agreements requiring subcontractors to indemnify or provide a duty defense for the builder. AB758 applies only to construction defect claims and does not cover personal injury claims. Commercial contractors are not affected by the bill and residential builders may still require additional insured endorsements from subcontractors.

Residential foreclosures are on the upswing after a three-year decrease. So far, they remain linked to reduced appreciation and high-risk loans in Southern California and the Central Valley. Average mortgage payments in October between 2004 and 2005 show an increase from $1,745 to $2,081, distinctly higher than the inflationary index. More than half of San Francisco loans originated during 2005 were interest only, and new one-year ARM loans hit a record high in October as buyers used them to afford homes they otherwise could not purchase. As home appreciation slows or flattens off, foreclosure numbers tend to increase. Most predictions show foreclosure numbers doubling by the end of 2006, which will be closer to traditional norms.

Sales of new homes have begun to fall and an increasing number of homeowners are still trying to cash out, though a little late. Roughly 500,000 residents used the appreciated value in their homes to leave for other states since 2001. The California Building Industry Association stated that new home sales in Northern California fell 40 percent from August to October, when compared to the same period the previous year. According to Lyon Real Estate, Sacramento County housing inventory tripled since March 2005, while total sales declined. The state’s Association of Realtors shows 53,700 new/ used single-family homes sold statewide in September. The median price of $543,980 was down 4.4 percent from the previous month.

High-end Designer of Spec Homes Enjoys Profits

As a designer of spec homes in the Oakland burn area, Phil Perkins has taken advantage of a unique situation. Historically, designers of spec homes had very little following in architectural communities and looked instead to make a name for themselves in the custom home market. In the Oakland hills, however, developers make far more money on spec homes than on custom. Most everything Perkins draws now is spec, which he also views as the most fun. Only rarely does he accept a custom job, which may take five times as long and require as many as 80 to 100 sheets, compared to a typical spec which requires 14 to 20 sheets.

Since 1996, Perkins has been designing almost exclusively high-end spec homes with startling results. Developers like building his homes, and buyers have been known to ask real estate agents to notify them when a Perkins Design home hits the market. Perkins says, "As a single designer, I have designed 60 homes in the fire area since 1995 for uniquely designed homes, which leaves me very busy.” Perkins built his own house in the burn area in 1994, which was early during the reconstruction period.

Homes in the area sell for around $465 per square foot, including the cost of the lot, and some custom homes run as high as $1,300 per square- foot. Lots as small as 5,000 square feet start at $700,000 and go up from there, but these homes look straight at San Francisco and are up in the hills. Most of Perkins' designs sell for over $2 million, but one design being built on a steep 1 1/2 lot has an asking price of $4.5 million. These homes typically net between $500,000 and $1 million for the builder.

Perkins enjoys his work and intends to continue designing, but regards liability as the biggest downside. While builders make 10 times as much on the homes, the designer is considered equally liable. And under California law, designers cannot shield themselves from liability by incorporating. Perkins and his wife, Esther, live in the same Oakland area that he designs for.

Colorado (Back to top)

The American Society of Landscape Architects is honoring Aspen’s Burlingame Ranch Affordable Housing Project with one of its 2005 Professional Awards. The project was recognized in the society’s analysis and planning category. The project, which has earned numerous accolades from consumer advocates, government officials and construction industry professionals, could create up to 230 affordable homes for low-income Aspen residents. The Burlingame Ranch landscape architect is DMN Design of Carbondale.

Effective immediately, all new development in the city of Greeley must provide water resources to the city. The Greeley Water & Sewer Board, through the Water Resource Division staff, sets the requirements for how much and what water rights can be used by the city to accommodate new growth.

The raw water development requirements for new residential development are three acre-feet per acre and are based on gross acres. This includes detention ponds, open space and rights-of-way. Developers must dedicate the historical water rights used to irrigate the land being developed. These water rights may be accepted by the city if they meet other criteria outlined in the Water & Sewer Board resolution and city ordinance. Water rights purchased from other farms that are not part of the proposed development cannot be accepted unless they are Colorado Big Thompson units. For developments requiring less than six acre-feet, cash-in-lieu of raw water rights may be paid. The cash-in-lieu rate is established monthly by the Water & Sewer Board and is based on the market price of CBT water.

If you plan a mixed-use development, be advised that your commercial development component must supply water rights in proportion to the size of each water tap needed and the annual allotment of water assigned to each service. As with residential development, only certain water rights can be accepted for this type of development. Cash-in-lieu of raw water rights can only be accepted for tap sizes that require no more than six acre-feet of raw water.

High Desert Home’s entry in the homebuilder’s 2005 Grand Junction Parade of Homes received a Built Green designation from Built Green Colorado. The model home scored 167 Built Green points, more than twice the number required to meet the group’s standard. Point-earning design included low-e windows; a variety of low-flow; water-saving faucets and showerheads; a sealed combustion fireplace; a radiant-floor heating system; sealed combustion fireplace; and a frost-protected foundation. The building’s panelized walls, manufactured by Superior Walls of the Rockies, are spec’d to save up to 50 percent of typical energy usage. The concrete walls also meant that the home required 90 percent less lumber than traditional stick-framed styles.

According to the Denver Regional Council of Governments, compact growth makes more economic sense than "sprawling development.” The DRCOG conducted research to facilitate the planning process for the Metro Vision 2030 update. The DRCOG concluded that compact growth (e.g., infill) would save Denver-area governments more than $4.3 million in infrastructure costs. In addition, the DRCOG found that a 12-square-mile expansion of the urban growth boundary around Denver would cost state taxpayers $293 million. Thirty million dollars of the additional costs would be borne by the region as a whole. These results are in keeping with research from the Center for Colorado Policy Studies (University of Colorado), which showed that infill development and increased residential densities were important factors in reducing two decade’s worth of infrastructure costs in Colorado Springs.

The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver and OSHA are working together via the Home Safe Colorado Program to minimize home construction site hazards. The pair are partnering to provide worker education in both English and Spanish. The new program, "Home Safe Ten-Point List: A Guide to Safe Work Practices,” is available in both languages. The goal is to meet or exceed OSHA construction standards. One means to that end is having HBA contractors take responsibility for the health and safety of their subs and their sub’s employees. The Home Safe program, which helps reduce both accidents and worker’s compensation claims, builds on earlier OSHA/Association partnership efforts.

Research from Colorado State University suggests that outlying, low-density residential developments use more tax dollars than they generate. The study also found that high-density, infill areas generate more employment than outlying areas, raise more in tax revenues and require more revenue for services. Forest and farm uses cost the government on average 35 cents for every dollar in taxes paid by the forest/farm users. Outlying rural residential developments, with one residence per 35 acres, cost state taxpayers $1.15 in services for every dollar of tax revenue generated.

Log Homes Serve as "Home Away From Home"

Mark Bjerken and Don Skare, owners of Chillcoots Construction, stress that they don’t build "cabins.” Yes, most of their buildings are log homes. Yes, these homes are all in the Winter Park Ski Resort area (roughly 9,000 feet above sea level). Yes, most of the homes are second homes. But no, these aren’t your grandparents’ (or great-grandparents’) log cabins. A Chillcoots "cabin” averages over 6,000 square feet and costs over $1 million. The full scribe log homes also contain little things that Laura Ingalls Wilder could only dream about: radiant heating in the floor, granite counter tops, commercial stainless steel appliances, intricate trimwork, high-end cabinetry, hardwood floors, lots of slate and tile, etc. "It’s ironic,” says Nancy Bjerken, "but the people who buy these second homes buy properties more luxurious than the ones they live in every day. I guess after a hard day’s skiing you want to relax and what better way to do that then in a really beautiful house?”

Bjerken and Skare, who have been friends since middle school, named their company after the Chilkoot mountain range, the last mountain range that the gold miners had to cross before reaching Alaska’s gold rush country. It seems appropriate, since the homes they build now consistently meet the gold standard.

Idaho (Back to top)

According to Nancy Vannorsdel, Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, only 1,000 manufacturing jobs were added in the Treasure Valley area between 1994 and 2004. In that same time frame, the valley added 22,000 service-industry jobs. Result: The valley’s average wage lags behind the national average and home ownership is outside the reach of many residents. In response, the Boise Valley Economic Partnership has raised $3.2 million to start the Valley Initiative for Prosperity, which will try during the next five years to generate 5,000 new jobs with an average annual salary of $35,000. These jobs will, in turn, create another 6,000 support jobs with an average wage of $10 an hour.

Throughout 2005, residential contractors have had to meet the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code. The state is currently considering the adoption of even tougher standards. The Building Safety Energy Program will be considering the 2006 IECC and IRC and may be adopted sometime in 2007. For more information, check the Energy Code Information Network.

Economist Jeff Thredgold predicts that Idaho will not suffer if the national "housing bubble” bursts. He predicts more dire consequences in the southwest and the coastal areas. According to the National Association of Realtors, the Boise residential housing market is among the top 20 in the nation based on growth. Steve Osburn, a broker with Windemere Real Estate, believes that it would take the loss of 13,000 local jobs and mortgage rates of 16 percent to reverse Idaho’s housing growth. He notes that just recently a 40-unit condominium project in downtown Boise sold out in only two weeks.

According to Jerry Gunstream, owner of Gunstream Commercial Real Estate (Nampa), roughly 2 million square feet of retail space was built in the past three years, while another 2 million square feet is under construction. The influx of retail businesses into the BoDo (Boise), Treasure Valley Marketplace (Nampa), Gateway Project (Nampa) and Indian Creek revitalization project (Caldwell) is expected to increase local employment and the demand for affordable housing.

Boise City Council members recently passed tighter temporary restrictions on infill developments lots less than 50-feet wide. The city considers such lots substandard and wanted to make sure that any homes built on these lots are "attractive.” City staff are currently working with local developers and residents in an attempt to develop a permanent infill ordinance.

This sleeper issue recently hit the front pages of local papers when the manager of a local development company allegedly and illegally moved three duplexes to lots previously identified as substandard. The homes were moved without a permit, and if the City Council decides that they present an attractive nuisance, city staff may have them removed or destroyed. City and Boise State University staff suggested one idea for homes that need to be moved: donate them to a non-profit agency that provides affordable housing to the poor.

Many Idaho contractors are expected to miss the Jan. 1 registration deadline. As of Jan. 1, contractors who do more than $2,000 of work annually must registered with the state and show proof of insurance. As of Thanksgiving, only 1,500 contractors have registered—a minority of the state’s estimated 17,000 contractors, but more than the 300 contractors who had registered by the end of October. There is a $41,000 fine for contractors who engage in construction without registration, but whether or not contractors will be fined is up to local jurisdictions. According to published reports, Meridian officials will probably deny building permits to contractors who haven’t registered. The Nampa mayor says the city "probably won’t fine unlicensed contractors at first.” The city of Boise has not gone on record with its plans. The Association of Idaho Cities’ Ken Harward suggests that cities decide what to do on a local level and then pass on an ordinance that formally states the policy.

SunCor Plans Community Around Recreation

SunCor Idaho, LLC, is hoping to start work on the 830-acre, 684-home Avimor community this spring and open a model home in fall 2006. According to SunCor Idaho’s land development manager, a majority of the housing units would be single-family homes, with about 60 multi-family units such as lofts. The estimated total population of Avimor would be 1,952. The community, which would include 75,000 square feet of commercial and community space, would also include 20 acres for parks. Roughly 62 percent of the 830 acres would be open space, including 9.8 miles of public trails.

Ada County’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approving the project. Avimor is on the Ada/Boise county line. It is now waiting for approval from the Ada County commissioners.

Nevada (Back to top)

Southern Nevada is currently under a drought alert. Water use in the Las Vegas Valley area has declined by 20 billion gallons over the past two years, primarily due to mandated and voluntary restrictions. During the same time, visitors to the area have increased and 168,000 new residents have arrived. The Colorado River system is now facing the worst drought on record and winter rainfall is predicted to be insufficient to bring any relief. All existing drought restrictions regarding landscape and sprinklers are now permanent, and a $2 billon pipeline has been proposed to bring groundwater in from rural areas. The Southern Nevada Water Authority applied for rights to these rural areas 15 years ago.

A new product for LEED credits is non-formaldehyde plywood. Manufactured from soy-based adhesive, PureBond hardwood plywood from Columbia Forest Products is available with FSC-certified veneers. This allows for both low-emitting materials and certified wood credits.

Carson City developer Landmark Communities has broken ground on one of the largest planned communities in the state. Plans for the 2,400-acre project, Traditions, show 5,200 homes and a town center with commercial, retail and office space. Prices for entry homes are estimated at $250,000, with the first residences available in spring 2007. The developer has no fixed timeline for completion of the project located between Reno and Carson City, stating it could be as long as 10 years. The executive director of the Northern Nevada Development Authority stated in a press release, "We believe Traditions will have a fantastic impact both socially and economically in framing the destiny of this region.”

No one would argue that the influx of lawyers from California has had a harsh impact on local contractors. Three judges now preside over the Nevada Construction Defect Court, with the dubious honor of holding the nation’s largest caseload of construction defect cases. It has settled or tried over $600 million in cases since 2002. The combined efforts of contractors, the subcontractors association, the insurance industry, the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association and the judges from the 8th Judicial District Court of Clark County created the basis of what is now known as "The Nevada Model,” which is closely watched by citizens in other litigious states. Provisions in the legislative codes allow right to repair, specify restrictions on attorney fees and costs, and establish close judicial management.

Recent reports from the FDIC indicate trouble on the horizon. In the past three years, half the new jobs in the state were created in construction, tourism and healthcare. Rising interest rates and increased land costs threaten construction, with per-acre prices now $647,930, according to the Nevada Development Council. Lower disposable income through much of the United States is reducing travel and is expected to depress the gaming industry. Strong growth in the healthcare sector is expected to continue as large numbers of retirees continue to move in.

The 2006 Southern Nevada Housing Day is scheduled for February 28 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The annual trade show pulled in 1,400 attendees from the local building industry last year and featured more than a hundred major manufacturers, suppliers and distributors.

Builders Choice, Inc., is building a 142,000-square-foot building and 7,000-square-foot shop on 29 acres in Silver Springs, which is set to open by spring of 2006. Builders Choice will manufacture wood roof and floor trusses for residential and commercial buildings. The plant expects to employ as many as 300 people in a couple of years. The company sees northern Nevada as a strategic location based on the influx of growth.

Las Vegas is increasingly affected by housing costs. Affordable housing is at the lowest point in the past decade. Home prices rose 21.6 percent, faster than per-capita average income in the fiscal year ending June 30. Between soaring land prices and construction defects lawsuits, young adults making $30,000 a year cannot afford a home. The current mean wage of $17.44 in Clark County provides roughly $35,000 yearly. The Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies reports a current shortage of 40,000 affordable dwellings and 122,000 families choosing rent payments over food and medicine. An experimental 100-unit project on BLM infill land is in progress.

Statewide, 4.2 percent unemployment rates continue to hold steady. Contractors remain well aware that these levels require dipping into the "Unemployable Rate,” the point where employee difficulties run the gamut of sheer inexperience, high turnover, theft and deliberate worker’s compensation fraud. Employee inexperience is thought to play a major part in the construction defect problems plaguing the industry. Unemployment levels this low require constant diligence on the part of the employer. Levels for total statewide employment rose 4 percent during 2005.

Nevada Commission on Economic Development

Discussions with Jeanie Ash, of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, show how committed the state is to diversifying the economy. NCED continues to aggressively seek and relocate companies from other states and continues to have a multi billion dollar effect on the economy. Roughly 25 percent of businesses relocated from California, with a 50 percent increase in business inquiries when compared with the previous year. Ash says the primary draw to outside companies is the lower cost of doing business in the state. The two largest considerations are the lower cost of both utilities and worker’s compensation.

The governor’s budget has created $10 million in grants for economic diversification in major cities. Specifically, these funds have been directed to regional development authorities NDA and EDAWN and are designated to target industries that will broaden the economic base of the state. The funds may not be used to aid or attract industry in the gaming, tourism or service sectors.

New grants of $1 million have been directed into rural Nevada. The city of Elko, for example, is extending rail for the establishment of a rail port and creating an industrial park using geothermal energy.

Oregon (Back to top)

Portland’s Gateway Transit Center, a new 42-unit, low-income condo project, will receive a 10-year tax break worth more than seven times the value of the project’s least expensive units. Approved in December by the Portland City Council, this tax exemption, and others like it, is expected to encourage homebuilders to offer more affordable transit-oriented-design housing options. The City Council recently imposed a temporary moratorium on tax breaks for many new multifamily projects, but this moratorium did not affect the Gateway Transit Center project because its tax abatement status is a function of its TOD. The center is situated within walking distance of two light-rail lines. The Gateway units are expected to sell for between $99,950 and $161,950. To qualify for purchase, potential homebuyers must earn less than Portland’s $67,000 median income for a family of four. The 10-year tax break will cost the city of Portland an estimated $769,504.

New storm water discounts may offer business opportunities for contractors/remodelers. The Portland mayor and city commissioners recently voted to support the basic goals of a storm-water runoff discount program. The final vote on a program will take place in 2006. The carrot: under the endorsed plan, over 98,000 city residential customers who have taken steps to keep their storm-water runoff out of the city sewer system could qualify for as much as a 35 percent discount on their sewer bills. The stick: residents who fail to qualify, approximately 50,000 homeowners, may face a 41 percent increase in their sewer bills. By 2010, residents who are not participating in the storm-water runoff discount program will pay almost $10 more a month for service than their participating neighbors.

Despite protests, West Linn city councilors approved the city’s first policy for annexing land. Prior to adopting the policy, the councilors were reviewing annexation requests on a case-by-case basis without a guiding policy. Voters will make final annexation decisions.

West Linn city councilors are being asked to pass a law to protect owners of manufactured homes if the parks they live in are closed and sold to residential developers. The City of Wilsonville has such an ordinance but it is being challenged in court. That ordinance requires park owners to get a city permit before closing their facility, find all of their tenants a "comparable place” to move to, pay any moving costs, and pay to feed and house their park tenants during said move. If the sited homes can’t be moved (many parks only accept new manufactured homes), the park owners must purchase them. One residential development company that considered purchasing a West Linn mobile home park, Willamette Cove, withdrew its offer once it learned that getting the city’s permission to redevelop the 14 acres would take years longer than the company had expected.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services, Insurance Division, approved "Work in progress” or "M&C” contractor liability insurance policies for sale. Work in progress provides coverage for injury or damage occurring during the course of construction. It does not provide coverage for completed work. Work in progress policies will satisfy the statutorily mandated liability insurance required for CCB licenses.

The following measures that relate to land use were enacted in the 2005 legislative session and have been signed by the governor. They take effect Jan. 1, 2006. • SB 863. Summary: Allows owner of an existing dwelling in an exclusive farm-use zone to apply for a deferred replacement permit that remains valid indefinitely, provided the dwelling is removed or demolished within three months of issuance of permit. The deferred replacement right may be transferred only to a spouse or child. • HB 2458. Summary: Repeals "sunset” of 2003 Act authorizing industrial development in buildings of any size and type on certain lands outside urban growth boundaries outside the Willamette Valley. It changes population limits of cities where unlimited industrial development may be restricted. It directs LCDC to conform statewide land-use planning goals to this legislation within six months of the effective date of the act. It declares emergency, effective on passage. • SB 574. Warranty Agreement: Authorizes contractor who builds a new structure to present for recording a written warranty agreement between contractor and original owner to facilitate handling of construction defects and express warranties.

Portland Encourages Narrow Homes

The city of Portland is proposing changes to current zoning codes that would allow certain approved house designs to be constructed on narrow infill lots.

Background: In 2004, the Portland Bureau of Develop-ment Services ran a design competition, encouraging architects to submit plans for single-dwelling, detached houses that could be shoehorned into 25-foot-wide lots. Architects and designers from around the continent submitted over 400 plans.

Four of the designs were designated as the "People’s Choice” winners. The city selected two of these designs, which were also selected by a jury of professionals, and contracted with their creators to finalize permit-ready plans. While neither of the house plans meets all of the present zoning requirements, the Portland Development Bureau is pursuing zoning code amendments and planning department changes that would allow their construction.

Contractors can obtain a free copy of the Portland Catalog of Narrow Homes Designs publication that resulted from this competition. It features 23 home designs selected in the second phase of the "Living Smart: Big Ideas for Small Lots” juried competition from the field of 426 submitted designs. Contact the Development Services Center, 1900 SW Fourth Ave., Portland, OR, or order via the competition Web site at www.livingsmartpdx.com.

Texas (Back to top)

The Texas Residential Construction Commission, which announced this November that it would start strictly enforcing the Home and Remodeling Compliance rule, has already started fining builders. The most common infraction: late submission of a house registration. All builders and remodelers, regardless of the date that the company registered with the commission, have to register all qualifying residential projects since Jan. 1, 2005. The deadline for the project registration is a function of whether or not the title of the property will be transferred as part of the construction project. The fee for filing electronically is $25, the fee for filing by mail or fax is $30 and the filing can be up to 60 days late if the applicant is willing to pay an additional $50.

The TRCC is also accepting applications for its Advisory Committee, a group that reviews proposed changes to the adopted warranties and building and performance standards. Inspectors assigned by the commission will use the adopted warranties and standards to evaluate alleged post-construction defects identified in a home. The Advisory Committee, whose members are all volunteers, wields significant power and as such, homebuilders are encouraged to apply.

Lanoga Corp.’s Parker Lumber company substantially acquired all of the assets of Bracht Lumber, which sells building materials, lumber, retail hardware, millwork, etc., from its 12-acre lumberyard in Rockport. Bracht’s customer mix is approximately 85 percent professional builders and 15 percent retail, thanks in part to its 48,000-square-foot retail showroom. Parker will benefit from an increased presence in the Rockport area. The Bracht operation will benefit from Lanoga’s operating and capital support. Lanoga, a $2.75 billion company, operates six separate divisions, including Dixieline (Southern California), Lumbermens (California, Arizona and the Pacific Northwest), Home Lumber (Colorado) and Parker Lumber (Texas). In another Texas takeover, Building Materials Holding Corp. is purchasing Leaman Building Materials’ Home Lumber Division. Home Lumber, whose three Houston locations sell custom millwork and doors to building contractors, booked roughly $61 million in annual sales.

Sixty-five previously expired and/or denied builder/remodeler applications were recently approved for activation after the applicants agreed to pay all application and late fees, plus administrative penalties. A builder/remodeler may not legally work in Texas unless it is registered with the proper authorities. Such actions taken against a builder/ remodeler become part of the party’s permanent file with the state’s construction commission.

According to the Texas Real Estate Center, most Texas cities experienced an increase in home sales in 2005 compared to 2004. Cities that experienced an increase included Abilene (12 percent), Amarillo (11 percent), Austin (20 percent), Dallas (8 percent), Fort Worth (13 percent), Galveston (19 percent), Houston (8 percent) and San Antonio (13 percent). The largest Texas city to experience a decline in home sales in 2005 was El Paso (down 12 percent).

Towns with fewer homes for sale in 2005 than in 2004 included Abilene (down eight percent), Amarillo (down 7 percent) and Austin (down 14 percent). Areas with more homes available in 2005 included Corpus Christi (up 13 percent), Fort Worth (up 17 percent) and Houston (up 6 percent).

Local builders are concerned that due to storm damage from Hurricane Katrina, there may be a rapid influx of builders and remodelers from other states who are unaware of, or choose to ignore, the state’s stringent registration requirements. Particular attention is being paid to the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, which was hit hard by the recent storm.

Public service announce-ments are informing homeowners that all builders and remodelers in Texas are required to register with the state if they work on new homes or a remodeling job that changes the square footage of living space or that costs $20,000 or more. Builders should be aware that residents are warned to ask for proof of registration or to contact the commission to make sure that they are dealing with "a reputable, registered company.” Builders and remodelers can help homeowners by directing them to the commission’s Web site at www.trcc.state.tx.us.

Although roofing companies and some remodeling and repair companies may not be required to be registered, homeowners should check references, so roofers and remodelers are advised to have reference information available.

Central Texas Building Boom

Ask Sam Burnt, B&W Homes, about the biggest problems he faces as a Central Texas builder, and he’ll ask you what you mean by problems. After 25 years in the business, Burnt has developed a business and a business model that would make anyone envious.

For example: Is there a sufficient market in Central Texas to keep you busy? "We have one of the hottest building areas right here in Bell County. I build in Killeen, where the population, which now stands at roughly 100,000, tripled over the last 10 or 12 years. We’re a military community and lots of people retire here when they leave the service because they like the area, they know the people, the overall cost of living is low, and the housing is affordable. I build about 1,000 homes a year.”

What kind of homes do you sell? "Presold ones. That way I don’t have to worry about what people want, like spec builders do. In a market like ours you don’t have to take risks, guessing what people will or won’t like. Most of the homes we build are around 2,000 square feet with a price of between $180,000 and $200,000.”

Do you have trouble finding enough construction workers? "Nope. You can’t do any better than retired military people. They’re hard-working, sharp and do well in a team.”

Is there enough land available at reasonable prices? "I’m in Central Texas. You’re kidding, right?”

Things really are different in Texas!

Utah (Back to top)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development raised the Provo-Orem MSA mortgage limits to a new high for the area as of Oct. 31, 2005. This is a result of the current upward trend in home prices in the area. Purchasers may now borrow up to $180,500 for a one-unit, single family home in the Provo-Orem MSA using a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The previous limit was $175,750 for a one-unit, single-family home. The raise is not unexpected given other increases offered in other hot Utah markets. In September, HUD also raised the Washington County mortgage limits to a new area high. Homeowners can now borrow up to $223,250 for a one-unit, singlefamily home; the previous limit was $201,875 for a similar dwelling. According to HUD Regional Director John Carson, "Homeownership plays a vital role in creating strong communities by giving families a stake in their neighborhoods and helping them to build wealth. Increasing mortgage limits and providing more relaxed requirements for FHA loans removes two major obstacles for many first-time homebuyers.”

Developers in Utah are moving into smaller and less populated towns and counties. Developers are starting to take notice of towns like Hurricane, population 13,000. Dixie Springs development, a project of Idaho’s McNeil Development company that is currently in the master-planning stage, could add 1,400 homes and almost 40,000 lots to Hurricane. According to City Manager Clark Fawcett, "We’ve always had the five- and 10-acre parcels under development. What we’re seeing now is the 1,000-acre and 2,000-acre sites. It’s spreading out all over the place. We’re at that crossroads where everything’s coming too fast and too hard for the city. It could cause problems. What we don’t want is for growth to spread out all over the place.”

In St. George there are more than 7,500 residential units approved for construction. The Ledges, a 5,000-acre development that includes a golf course, is also under development on the northeast side of town along Highway 18. According to St. George Mayor Dan McArthur, "We’re looking at density issues and whether bonuses will work as incentives to build more [affordable housing]. We’re working with development and the city council to try and find a way to increase [it].”

The Utah Energy Office functions are now divided between several state agencies, making it more complicated for homebuilders to keep track of changes in policies and practices. The Governor's Office is coordinating energy policy; the Utah Geological Survey is operating the State Energy Program; the Department of Environmental Quality is operating the Clean Fuels Vehicle Grant and Loan, PowerForward, and EnergyWise programs; and the Division of Facilities Construction and Management is operating the State Buildings Energy Efficiency Program. Changes in state energy codes, practices and policies can be found at bacp-energy.org.

The Mountainland Association of Governments, Wasatch Front Regional Council and Envision Utah have combined forces to conduct a regional land-use and transportation "visioning process” for Wasatch Front Region’s four counties. These four counties—Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber— house over 75 percent of the state’s citizens. The study is intended to generate growth scenarios through the year 2040, help governmental bodies evaluate growth options, and identify the best growth strategies and determine infrastructure priorities. Planning for growth is critical. The four-county region’s population has grown from 1.34 million residents in 1990 to 1.81 million in 2003 (a 2.3 percent annual growth rate). Salt Lake County grew the fastest, adding an average of 5,635 households per year, followed by Utah County, which added an average of 3,113. Davis County added 1,841 and Weber County added 1,229.

This is Not Your Average Spec Home

Adam Arrington, owner and president of Arrington Development, LLC, has only been in the construction industry for 12 1/2 years. "Twelve and one-half years working in the industry—that is, 12 1/2 years learning everything I could about the business while making a living—including almost 10 years running my own company,” he said. But he’s already got an impressive record in Southern Utah. "On average, we’ve been building 30 to 40 spec homes a year in the St. George area,” says Arrington, who adds it’s easy to learn the construction industry but not so easy to put everything you’re learned into place. "In the last year, though, our construction efforts have been capped by the lack of available land. The inability to get enough good land at reasonable prices has encouraged me to focus more on the development side of the construction equation. That, and the reduced liability!”

There is no average Arrington home. They range in size from 1,800 square feet to over 7,000, with prices starting in the $300,000 range and ending up over $1 million. Having a designer as one of his five staff people has also allowed Arrington to put custom touches into his "average” homes.

Arrington’s biggest frustration is dealing with the politics of growth. "Construction and development have different headaches,” says Arrington. "With development, it’s the politics. I guess that’s the name of the game. It’s difficult to get projects through the political process in a timely and cost-effective manner. Sometimes it feels like we’re just jumping through hoops. There are people in the area that want to limit growth, and that’s bad news for both contractors and consumers. Prices may go down a little over the next 12 months or so, but the population will continue to grow. We have to have enough housing for everyone.”

Washington (Back to top)

Throughout 2005, Washington outperformed the rest of the nation in terms of payroll employment gains. Construction had the largest growth of any business sector, adding 18,000 new jobs from September 2004 to September 2005. During this time span, employment in the business and professional services sector increased by only 17,000 jobs. Twenty percent of the annual job growth was due to the construction sector, which accounts for roughly 6 percent of total payroll employment.

On Nov. 18, the Washing-ton State Department of Ecology issued the new Construction Stormwater General Permit, which is required by the federal Clean Water Act. This permit regulates construction sites of one acre or more. Currently, only large construction projects exceeding five acres are covered. These requirements will be phased in gradually in order to assist project owners. Starting in October 2006, water turbidity will have to be monitored on a weekly basis on all sites five acres and larger. Beginning in October 2008, turbidity will have to be monitored on sites between one and five acres in size. The new permit will add regulatory procedures and costs for Washington construction projects. See www.agcwa.com for more information.

The Washington Farm Bureau has announced plans to file a property rights initiative early in the new year. Farm Bureau, the largest general farm organization in Washington, with more than 34,000 member families, kicked off a yearlong grassroots property rights campaign at its annual meeting in November. The initiative, which is still being drafted, will be filed in January. Supporters will need to collect about 225,000 signatures by July to place the initiative on the general election ballot in November 2006.

Dan Wood, director of government relations for the Washington Farm Bureau, explained that state and local governments are making it increasingly difficult for farmers and other property owners to use and enjoy their land in reasonable ways. For example, he cited recent "critical areas ordinances” mandated under the state’s Growth Management Act that can force farmers to create no-touch buffers up to 300 feet wide along both sides of a stream that flows through their property.

"Losing that much land without any compensation can make a lot of farms unprofitable,” Wood says. He added that the Farm Bureau initiative would seek to change government behavior by requiring agencies to work with property owners, rather than against them. "There's this culture of conflict out there because agencies come in and say, ‘We're putting a buffer on your land.’ They just change the rules on people. When landowners feel they are being disrespected, it's very natural that they get real worked up about that. What we're going to say is, let's change the approach.” Wood stated that if the government needs or wants rural property for a public purpose like buffers, it should buy the land, just like it buys property when it needs to put in a road or build a school.

Pierce County may charge developers new traffic impact fees. The county is considering substantial traffic impact fees—as high as $3,300 per new house depending on the home’s location—that would raise almost $190 million for traffic improvements over the next 20 years. The impact fees would apply to buildings outside cities. The fees would be levied on new residential, industrial and commercial properties. Pierce County already charges impact fees for parks and schools. According to Gary Predoehl, the county’s transportation planning and programming manager, "The Pierce County impact fees are well within those that are imposed by other jurisdictions around the Puget Sound region.”

Code Review Unlikely to Call for Major Change

In March 2005, the Washington State Building Code Council requested that the Technical Advisory Group on Energy Codes conduct a comparison of the International Energy Conservation Code and the International Residential Code with the Washington State Energy Code to assess the feasibility of adopting the IECC in the 2006 code-change cycle. Other building codes have been making the transition from state codes to the international codes and the council felt that it was time to repeat this exercise, which was originally undertaken in 1999. The TAG began the process in April 2005, and preliminary findings were available by the end of September. A technical comparison document drafted this month makes a recommendation as to the options the council could pursue as a result. The recommended options were selected out of five considered and are three distinct—but ultimately integrated—approaches. The first path would be to maintain the status quo with the WSEC; the second path is to start changing the WSEC to more resemble the IECC; and the third is to adopt the current IRC for low-rise residential but keep the non-residential code for high-rise and multifamily dwellings. All three options will basically keep the WSEC intact and functioning as normal until a future date when amendments could be adopted to render the two distinct codes more similar and reduce the impact of a major code change or revision.

NATIONAL NEWS & TRENDS (Back to top)

National News

A native plant in Australia could be the cure for the common termite. A fencepost cut from a small tree was untouched, while the rest of a corral around it was falling over from termite damage. With the ban on copper arsenate, borates now remain the only legal defense against damage and borates will leach when in constant contact with water.

Extracts from the Australian plant have proven effective at killing termites, as well as repelling them. This could lead to replacement of the dangerous nerve poisons currently used for pest control. When safety testing on the chemical derived from the plant is completed, the new treatment may become the best option against these wood-boring pests.

Steep hikes in prices of building materials, primarily related to nonresidential construction, have been seen across a variety of products. Copper, asphalt, wallboard, plastics and concrete are among those that have taken the worst increases, and more change is expected throughout 2006. While cement continues to be in short supply, other materials are also expected to show spot shortages.

Truck drivers are also in short supply, a trend that is expected to continue. Before the hurricane season, the national shortage of drivers was estimated at 20,000—a figure expected to reach 50,000 by the time this issue is printed, and 111,000 by 2014.

The Port of New Orleans is offering excellent pay as well as free housing aboard federal ships docked on the Mississippi and some truckers are sure to move with the money. Government hiring for trash hauling out of the devastated city has caused additional strain on the national shortage. When coupled with the lack of railcars in West Coast ports of Seattle/Tacoma, the lack of drivers has goods stacking up and trucks sitting idle. Because of the imbalance between shipping requirements and availability, expect permanent double-digit increases in shipping costs of building materials. The irony: Many truckers left the industry to work for the booming construction trades in the Western states.

National Trends

Studies released Nov. 1 from the Swedish National Testing and Research Institute show striking correlation between plasticizers (phthalates) used in vinyl flooring and asthma, allergies and eczema in children. The European Union has now banned these same plasticizers in children’s toys. Terrence Collins, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, writes, "Beneath the attractive veneer, PVC is extremely hazardous for multiple reasons.” During the past few years, studies regarding phthalates and asthma have been considered controversial, and research continues. Homeowners may want to select wood floors for health reasons, but builders should note the volatile finishing compounds could linger for months after completion. In cases of severe asthma, pre-finished floors should be considered.

As households devote a rising percentage of their monthly income to hold onto their homes, concerns are growing as to whether families are extended beyond their means. In high-cost markets, some families devote as much as 50 percent of their income toward mortgage payments. Astonishingly, foreclosures and late payments have been lowest in these same areas. A portion of the reduction of the low foreclosure rates involves loss mitigation techniques that allow for restructured loan terms and deferred late balances. Total foreclosure rates during the first three quarters of 2005 were around 1 percent, a figure expected to rise quickly as ARM loans readjust upward. Loans from the spring of 2003 will rise over two percentage points for over 1 million homeowners this year.

M/D/R (Back to top)

Los Angeles-based Ares Management, LLC, has purchased a 19.9 percent share of San Jose-based Orchard Supply Hardware Stores from Sears Holdings. Ares plans to double the size of the 84-unit chain through the investment of $58.7 million in cash. Thanks to a three-year option to purchase another 30.2 percent for an additional $126.8 million, Ares could more than double the size of its holdings to 50.1 percent, a controlling interest.

The nation’s largest privately held pro builder, 84 Lumber, is responding to local market conditions by closing six of its retail locations, including a store in Silsbee, Tex. Every three years the firm evaluates each location and analyzes the store’s performance. The closing of the six stores is not indicative of 84 Lumber’s corporate health. Nationally, the firm opened more than 50 stores in 2005 and plans to open another 50 in 2006. 84 Lumber currently operates 500 stores across the United States.

Many manufacturers, distributors and retailers are reporting that meeting the initial demand for Title 24-compliant products is not as onerous as some had feared. Many companies are approaching the challenge pragmatically. Case in point: Kalco Lighting, LLC, Las Vegas, a manufacturer of residential lighting products.

According to Nicole Whitley, "Kalco Lighting sells nationwide, as well as in Canada, so any decisions we made had to consider both California and our broader geographic market. Of course, it was important to us that we meet the immediate needs of our California customers, but it was equally important that we do things right. We decided to initially rework just one of our product ‘families,’ a line that includes torchieres, a few pendant styles and a sconce. As of now, the products in this line accept fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescents. They look exactly like they did when they were spec’d for incandescents. Moving to fluorescent bulbs wasn’t a major problem, although it required a change in specs and some tests to ensure that the new products meet the Title 24 requirements. We intend to add additional Title 24-compliant lighting in the future. Things are going well with the rollout. We haven’t experienced difficulty getting enough of the product to market and the reworked models are proving to be popular. We expect that they will also be popular nationwide.”

According to the Freedonia group, companies that manufacture and sell wall coverings have a reason to cheer. The demand for traditional wall treatments is expected to increase 4.3 percent annually, reaching $2.9 billion in 2009. Wallpaper, which had lost popularity of late, is expected to gain some market share due to the introduction of new products that are easier to install and more environmentally friendly. Ceramic wall tile is also expected to increase in popularity, with sales increasing more than four percent per year for the next four years.

Koch Industries, a privately held global energy giant, is buying Georgia-Pacific in return for $13.2 billion in cash and an assumption of $7.8 billion in debt. This represents a $48 per share purchase price, a 40 percent premium over GP’s market value at the time the sale was announced.

Koch Industries, a privately owned company, is known for its oil-trading, refining and pipeline operations. In addition to its consumer-oriented brands (Brawny paper towels, Dixie paper cups, etc.), Georgia-Pacific supplies the residential construction industry with a variety of items, including gypsum products, plywood, structural panels, decorative panels, engineered boards, lumber, engineered lumber, countertops, cabinets, shelving, decking materials, roofing, siding and various sheathing products.

Prior to the merger, Koch booked annual revenues of $60 billion; the acquisition of GP is expected to add another $20 billion in revenue. Koch Industries has grown 1,600 percent since 1961 (the firm is known for reinvesting 90 percent of its earnings as an engine for growth). The Wichita, Kan.-based company sold several natural gas properties this year, had substantial amounts of cash on hand and was looking to acquire another successful firm. It started purchasing GP assets in 2004.

Of regional concern are the thousands of GP employees Koch will be adding to its massive payroll. At present Koch employs 30,000 workers in 50 counties and says it "has no plans to trim jobs.” GP currently employs about 4,000 people in Oregon (facilities are located in Albany, Canby, Clatskanie, Coos Bay, Eugene, Fairview, Halsey, Philomath, Portland, Toledo and White City) and 1,700 in Washington (Camas, Bellingham, Issaquah, Olympia and Tacoma).

Kaycan Ltd.’s KP Building Products division has agreed to purchase Louisiana-Pacific’s vinyl siding business. The purchase price was not made public. Due to the siding sale, LP dropped its third-quarter profit figure to $168.2 million from $172.5 million. Kaycan, for its part, will acquire two siding mills and a warehouse.

Lowe’s, the second largest home channel retailer in the world, saw its third quarter profits increase by 25.8 percent ($649 million versus $516 million in the third quarter 2004). Total sales for the period were up 16.9 percent and same-store sales were up 6.2 percent. The company also experienced an increase in net earnings of 6.4 percent for the first three quarters of 2005. Lowe’s currently operates in 29 states, boasting a total of 1,170 stores with an average of over 11,100 square feet each. Thirty-three stores were opened during the third quarter and one was temporarily shut down, because of Hurricane Katrina. For the fourth quarter, Lowe’s plans to open 63 new stores and reopen the operation closed by Katrina. ]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=315 A recent simulation study by the U.S. Department of Energy showed considerable energy savings from housewraps. Savings up to 36 percent were seen in heating-dominated climates. When thermal reflective wraps are included, substantial savings are seen in the cooling-dominated areas as well. Savings from housewraps are dramatic, but steady increases in mold lawsuits have created a situation where some builders see housewraps as a liability.

Housewraps that serve as an air barrier require a complete seal to the building wall, including taping all laps and sealing all breaks in the envelope. Testing by Murakami and Yoshino (1983) showed that air leakage through ceiling, ceiling/wall and floor/wall joints accounted for 60 percent of the total leakage. Air barriers not fully sealed at overlaps and ends strongly reduce potential savings. Weather resistance in housewraps include:

1. Air resistance - decreasing outside air flow, reducing drafts, decreasing energy consumption and decreasing moisture condensing in the wall.

2. Water resistance - protecting the wall from water that has penetrated the cladding.

3. Vapor permeability - allowing water vapor collected in the wall cavity side to flow back toward the cladding.

Water that collects behind the wall face, whether from liquid intrusion or moisture-laden air condensing inside the wall, must have an exit point as trapped water is the major cause of mold and dryrot. Paul McKenna, a representative for Valeron says, "While housewraps have been on the market for 20 to 30 years, changes in wall construction have decreased drying capacity. Older style 2x4 construction walls with R8 both wet and dried fairly rapidly. Current 2x6 walls, while energy efficient, have less drying capacity, increasing risk of mold and rot. As energy codes continue to increase change, builders need to be aware of increased moisture concerns.”

Housewraps behind horizontal or vertical lap siding act as a thin drainage plane. Plywood and other flat siding fit tightly to the wrap, and neither allow for drainage nor provide air space. The trapped water is absorbed into the siding, thus promoting rot, or forced by the heat of the sun through the housewrap and into the stud space in the form of water vapor. While housewraps don’t absorb moisture and can tolerate repeated wetting, building paper does absorb moisture and can help dry out water trapped behind it. Thus, there are obvious advantages to both products.

Colbond markets a traditional housewrap. Research regarding an upcoming product was shared by Spencer Kelly, who says, "Colbond is in the process of creating a barrier/rainscreen called Waterproof. Although tested and approved by ASTM, site tests in high rain and wind in Vancouver did not show the material as fully waterproof. The company is … still trying to improve the membrane for use in the Pacific Northwest.”

A redundant barrier isn’t sufficient to prevent all water from entering the wall cavity, so water must be prevented from entering the wall cavity in the first place. Rainscreens are the best defense. A rainscreen is a created air space between sheathing and cladding. After water-resistant housewrap is applied, installation of vertical 1x2s over the studs creates a standoff, which allows water to drain down the back of the cladding. The vertical boards should be run into the soffit space, allowing air to flow from the bottom of the cavity wall into the attic drafting moisture vapor.

Many studies imply that rainscreens are required fare for wet, wind-blown areas. Another housewrap application needing rainscreens involves the high levels of tannin in cedar, redwoods and similar woods. The tannin decreases the water permeance of housewraps, and installation of a rainscreen will reduce breakdown of the wrap.

Most builders are aware of the damage caused by improper housewrap installations and of the rising number of mold lawsuits both present and on the horizon. Regardless of whether housewrap is chosen as an air or water barrier, close attention to detail must be followed to integrate housewrap and flashing to provide a drainage pathway from the interior walls.

To provide a water barrier, all seams must be fully lapped and the wrap integrated with the flashing. The most common points of direct failure in drainage planes are openings in the building envelope such as windows, doors, skylights and the perimeters of decks and balconies.

Door flashing is typically the most inconsistent detail, causing the most problems for builders.

• Windows: Tape the housewrap to the lower windowsill, extending six inches up the sides. Insert the window, and tape the side flanges to the housewrap. Slit the housewrap above the top flange and tape the flange to the sheathing. Snug the housewrap over the top flange and tape across the top or over the side slits. Do not tape the lower window flange; allow water to exit the window on top of the housewrap.

• Doors: Insert a pan flashing under the threshold from the sub floor over the exterior housewrap, wrapping six inches up the sides. Flexible Butyl or EPDM flashing can be molded to the rough opening more easily than a traditional metal pan. After the door is installed, tape the sides. Install a head flashing integrated into the drainage plane. When using brick mould, metal flashing taped under the housewrap may be needed.

• Bottom sill plate: When the housewrap is serving as the drainage plane, do not tape the wrap to the bottom plate. Moisture driven through the housewrap needs to be allowed to drain to the outside of the wall. If the housewrap is serving as an air barrier, and there is rainscreen or second wrap serving as a drainage plane, then tape the housewrap to the mudsill and bottom plate.

• Top plate: Seal the housewrap to the sheathing at the top plate.

Compatibility issues between building materials caused early failure of housewraps as well as failures in balcony decking materials, moisture barriers and other envelope components. Selection of caulking and flashing should be based on compatibility with the primary weather-resistant barrier material.

• Polyurethane sealants do not bond to polyethylene moisture barrier materials. Acceptable sealants for polyethylene are elastomeric compounds, butyl rubber and polymers designed for polyethylene air barriers.

• EPDM membranes become brittle when in contact with asphalt-based flashings. When installing EPDM membranes on decking roofs or when using Pro-Installer Moldblocker Housewrap (a woven EPDM material), use only compatible flashing tape.

• Early asphaltic materials stained and caused damage to vinyl window frames. Butyl rubber and some new types of asphalt flashing tape don’t have this problem, but builders are advised to verify compatibility of specific products with window manufacturers.

• Solvents in asphaltic materials also damage polyurethane sealants to the point of delamination or failure of both materials. Schnee-Morehead PolyFoam is the only foam caulk that does not degrade or react with asphalt-based products.

Selecting the appropriate materials along with proper installation will help reduce water, air and heat intrusion into the dwelling. Consider vented rainscreens in marine climates. Areas with high rainfall but low wind could use a water-resistant housewrap and secondary drainage material. Cold climates with snow and low rainfall need a complete air barrier fully taped and flashed to all penetrations in the envelope. In hot dry regions, builders should select a reflective barrier.

Tom Lundberg owned a landscape firm in Albany, Ore., for 25 years, was a guest speaker for OSHA, and has written a book on Worker's Compensation. Now semi-retired, he provides business consulting and writes freelance.]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=319 The average 2,000-square-foot home has a dozen interior doors. That gives high-end homebuilders a dozen chances to impress their potential purchasers with custom closures. Eager to supply the demand, many manufacturers are offering custom-crafted doors; others offer specific custom features for some of their product lines. Options abound.

Wood species
The most common woods for doors are poplar, maple, fir, oak, ash, hickory, cherry and walnut, but most manufacturers offer an even broader variety. Unique woods are often available by special order (Sunrise Wood Products, for example, is willing to construct fully customized doors in any wood species). Designers suggest that builders match the wood to the style of the home: knotty woods, for example, are often used for an Early American look. Exotic tropical woods are an excellent fit with rich wall colors and dark wood floors.

Size
The trend with upscale houses is higher ceilings and taller doors. Although it will increase costs substantially, builders can give a home a unique feel by including nonstandard closets and door sizes (Marwin will build pocket or bifold doors up to 8 feet tall). Standard heights for passage doors are 78, 80, 82 and 84 inches, but 8-foot doors are becoming more readily available. (They’re expensive; an 8-foot grooved, planked door of South American walnut will cost over $800 pre-hung.) Simpson’s custom doors are available up to 5 feet wide and 2 1/4 inches thick.

Decorative and custom glass
French doors offer a wide selection of glass inlays, including beveled, v-groove, leaded, tempered and frosted. Leaded glass has caming options of brass, black, silver and antique patina. According to Simpson Door, "Silver caming adds an updated touch and blends seamlessly with today’s home hardware. Black can create a feel that is either rustic or Old-World refined, depending on the design. Brass has a soft gloss finish that continues to send a message of luxury.” Glass is also being offered in doors designed for bedrooms, laundry rooms and pantries. Etched deco doors are becoming more common, with Jeld-Wen’s collection including designs called Mediterranean, Game Room, Vineyard, Ocean Waves, Art Deco and Harvest. Masonite offers closet bifolds with panels of decorative glass or mirror.

Chalkboard panels
Simpson recently introduced chalkboard doors, with a 1/4-inch-thick magnetic panel chalkboard. These are available in three configurations: door-length panel, half-panel or double panel separated by a rail. Ideal as a drawing surface in children’s rooms, chalkboard doors also make great message centers in kitchens and laundry rooms.

Grills and decorative hardware
Gothic, Early American, the Prohibition Era and other historic periods have contributed to many features now available for interior doors. Offering a distinct look, speakeasy openings, wrought-iron grills, iron clavos, iron nails and light distressing are some of the many features offered by Sunrise Wood Products. Jeld-Wen’s IWP Custom Estate panel doors also include a variety of metal accents such as hand-forged diamond or round clavos.

Arch-tops
Custom doors with round tops create a warm Old-World feel. These doors are also called segment-top, circle-top and arch-top. Jeld-Wen’s IWP Custom Estate line includes six segment-top doors, including double doors. Combination Doors also offers an arch-top double door. Look for matching jambs, stops and casings to complement these nonstandard doors.

Fire protection
Fire-rated interior doors are a relatively new construction feature. Jeld-Wen’s Rockport molded doors are available in 20-, 45- and 60-minute fire door ratings. Masonite offers fire resistance as well as excellent sound-deadening benefits in their Safe ’N Sound solid core doors.

Custom Carving
Many companies offer custom carved or custom molded doors. Jeld-Wen’s marketing manager, Shane Meisel, says homeowners and builders are looking for ways to personalize their homes. "Through Jeld-Wen,” he says, "homeowners can choose from a variety of species, including alder, American cherry, black walnut, genuine mahogany and red oak, all of which can be custom carved.” Meisel suggests using hand-carved doors for "featured” rooms such as pantries, home theaters and wine cellars. The company needs an eight-week turnaround time for their carved doors.

Whether a house style is Renaissance or twentieth-century industrial, manufacturers sell interior doors that will complement and enhance that design. French doors with rippled or frosted glass, for example, can make a bedroom seem bigger without giving up privacy; a speakeasy entrance to the wine cellar provides a certain glamour and mystique. While it would be fun to completely outfit a house with extraordinary doors like these, that doesn’t suit most builders’ budgets. Fortunately, not every door in a house needs to be an impressive work of art. One or two are often enough to catch a buyer’s eye, and as long as there is consistency in the wood, hardware and door casings, the decorative doors will fit right in with the rest.]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=313 I think the code folks have gone overboard in their efforts to eliminate engineering of the simpler things. In fact, I believe those very efforts are the ones causing so much confusion. There are simply too many ways to build a house to say this way doesn’t need engineering but that way does. Trying to make that distinction—that line in the sand between shall be engineered and doesn’t have to be—is what this hullabaloo is all about. What is the solution? I have an idea, but you’ll have to slog through the rest of this column to get to it. I, no stranger to building codes, spent more than a day researching the International Residential Code (IRC) (read: "groping desperately to unravel a hopelessly tangled pile of kite string”) and still I am not sure I’ve got this issue completely nailed down. The following, I think, begins to answer the question. I’ve included code references in case some very brave person wants to investigate further.

IRC vs. IBC. Right out of the chute, there can be confusion as to which code to use. The Scope paragraph describes when the IRC can be used. However, the International Building Code (IBC) has many similar sections and lots of its own prescriptive requirements. One would hope that the prescriptive requirements in both codes are the same, which I believe is the case, though I didn’t specifically check them all.

To be clear, this article addresses only the 2003 IRC prescriptive requirements.

Scope. The IRC applies only to detached one-family, two-family (duplexes) and multiple single-family (townhouse) structures, three stories or less in height. Anything outside that definition must use the International Building Code [R101.2].

Conventional construction. To evade engineering, the building, from stem to stern, must be "conventional construction”; i.e., in compliance with the structural chapters of the IRC [chapters 4, 5, 6 and 8, primarily]. This includes, among many other things, certain minimum amounts of shear walls—both exterior and interior in many cases—and proper connection of them to foundations, floors and roofs.

If your overall building qualifies to use the IRC but certain structural elements aren’t "conventional,” then you only have to engineer the unconventional part(s), not the entire structure [R301.1.3].

Windspeed. If your structure is located where basic wind speeds are 110 mph or greater per the IRC’s map [Figure R301.2(4)], you can’t use the IRC. You’re instead directed to one of four other publications (good luck finding them). Concrete construction is an exception here—you can still use the IRC for formed concrete [R612.1] and insulated concrete form (ICF) construction in wind areas up to 150 mph [R611.2 and R301.2.1.1].

Wind exposure. Surprising, to me at least, is that the requirement for engineering doesn’t depend on wind exposure. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re in exposure A (very well protected from the wind) or exposure D (on the naked shore of an ocean or other large water body), the only concern about wind-triggering engineering is basic wind speed [R301.2.1.4].

110 mph wind. Areas of 110 mph or greater winds generally include Alaska’s seaboard and the southern-eastern seaboards (from Texas to Rhode Island). Most of the continental U.S. is in the 85-90 mph region [Figure R301.2(4)].

Seismic design category. Engineering is required if you are in seismic design category E, usually [R301.2.2]. The other design categories—the ones that don’t trigger engineering—are, from mildest to strongest: A, B, C, D1 and D2. If you are in category E and you can get an expert to say you’re not, then you may still get out of engineering by being demoted to D2. Or if you’re in category E and you design a plain plywood box with no "irregularities” (see Seismic limitations), you may again avoid engineering by demoting to D2 [R301.2.2.1.2].

How to determine seismic design category. The handy map in the IRC [Figure R301.2(2)] shows seismic design categories for the U.S., including Hawaii and Alaska. However, it assumes a site class of "D.” But how do you know if you really are in site class D? For that matter, what is site class D? Unfortunately, the IRC doesn’t give you either answer—it refers you to the IBC. Great.

Site class has to do with soil type. If your soils are stiff, dense or rock, you’re OK with site class D. But if your soils are soft or spongy, you’re site class E or F, and now you can’t use the IRC maps to determine seismic design category—you need to hire an engineer. Cripes!

Seismic E. Seismic E areas generally include the West Coast, the Sierra Nevada mountains, Hawaii (south part of the big island only), isolated pockets in the Rockies (eastern Idaho, western Wyoming and northern Utah), southern Alaska and a pocket along the Mississippi River in the western Tennessee, southeastern Missouri area [Figure R301.2(2)]. But, again, this is predicated on your soils being stiff, dense or rock.

Seismic limitations – dead weight. If you use really heavy building materials for roofs, floors or walls, engineering for seismic design will be required. Standard residential construction, including masonry and ICF, generally do not fall into this category [R301.2.2.2.1].

Seismic limitations – irregular buildings in seismic design categories C, D1 and D2. If your building has any of the following irregularities and you’re in C, D1 or D2, engineering is required [R301.2.2.2.2]:

• Shear walls don’t line up vertically from foundation to roof. An example might be a second floor exterior wall cantilevered beyond the exterior wall below it. Certain exceptions apply for mildly cantilevered or set-in wood-framed walls.

• A portion of roof or floor is not supported by a shear wall, for example, a portion of the house supported on posts. There is an exception for projections of six feet or less.

• The end of an upper floor shear wall occurs over an opening in the shear wall below. An example could be a second floor shear wall that ends over the middle of a garage door below. Exceptions abound.

• There is an opening in a floor or roof that exceeds 12 feet in any dimension, or is greater than half the roof or floor’s smallest dimension. A very large skylight or a large opening in a second floor to accommodate stairs could be an example.

• Split-level floors, aka, vertically offset floors. There are exceptions. Basically, if each level of floor has shear walls all the way around below, or if the floors are overlapped and tied together well, you could be exempted from this.

• Shear walls are not at right angles. This could apply to a house with wings at 45 degrees, or any other non-90-degree angle exterior wall arrangement.

• Above-grade stick-frame shear walls are mixed with masonry or concrete construction. However, masonry or concrete fireplaces and brick veneer don’t count; i.e., they’re exceptions. An example could be a mostly stick-framed house that has a window wall of ICF. This is the only irregularity that causes the entire affected story(ies) to be engineered.

Snow load. Buildings located where ground snow load exceeds 70 pounds per square foot (psf) are required to be engineered [R301.2.3].

Floodway. Buildings located in floodways, as designated by the local building department, may not be designed per the IRC—they must follow IBC regulations. Note, this is different than being in a floodplain, which is allowed under the IRC without engineering [R301.2.4].

Story height. First of all, understand that there is a difference between story height and maximum stud length. The IRC’s definitions [Chapter 2] tell us story height is a floor-to-floor distance. But in Chapter 3, story height is defined as stud height plus up to 16 inches of floor framing. Make sure you and your code official interpret this correctly.

The IRC is more restrictive about story height than stud height of certain individual walls. For example, is it possible to have a story height of 10 feet but also have a 20-foot balloon-framed entry wall, without engineering?

Weaving one’s way through the IRC’s spaghettian layout to get to the bottom of this story-height issue is no simple matter [R301.3, Table R602.3(5) and Table R602.3.1]. Here’s the upshot.

Wood-framed walls. Maximum story height without engineering equates to 10-foot studs plus up to 16 inches of floor framing. However, there is an exception that allows 12-foot studs if you pump up shear wall requirements 20 percent.

Now, certain wall stud heights can go all the way to 24 feet without engineering, if wind speed is less than 100 mph, and you’re in seismic category A, B, C or D1, and you follow the spacing and footnotes in Table R602.3.1. Regardless, the story height must not exceed that described in the previous paragraph.

Steel studs. Maximum story height without engineering equates to 10-foot steel studs plus up to 16 inches of floor framing. I found no exceptions.

Masonry walls. Maximum story height without engineering equates to a floor to ceiling height of 12 feet plus up to 16 inches of floor system. Gable ends can extend another 8 feet without engineering.

ICF (insulated concrete forms). Maximum story height without engineering equates to a floor to ceiling height of 10 feet plus up to 16 inches of floor system. Maximum number of stories above grade without engineering is two [R611.2].

Construction on fill. Engineering is required for fill soils under footings or foundations [R401.2].

There’s more prescriptive stuff in this code, but the above are the structural major ticket items.

I think the code folks ran awry when they invented prescriptive design. Most people aren’t even aware that prescriptive design violates most states’ engineering law, which (paraphrased) states that engineering shall be performed only by engineers (also architects in some states). Deciding which beams or shear walls to use is engineering. Period. I don’t care what IRC tables tell you, it is still engineering. Span tables are a classic example. Say you have a 16-foot garage door header that you size using an IRC span table, but fail to notice the footnote that says only applicable to uniform distributed loads. Most non-engineers don’t even know what this means and won’t care that a girder truss is bringing a huge point load to the mid-span of their header, making it grossly undersized.

I prefer the good old days when the code simply described minimum standards and it was up to designers and code officials to decide when engineering was needed and when it was not. This required some basic understanding of the code, and common sense. I think today’s codes strive extravagantly to eliminate any possibility of someone actually engaging their brain and using common sense. I’m a big fan of common sense. You see, as soon as you try to define things so precisely, so exactly, that common sense is no longer needed, two things happen: 1) your descriptions become so dense and perplexing, no one can understand them; and 2) people disengage their brains, throwing any attempt at common sense out the window.

Probably very few code writers will agree with the above, so here is another idea. How about a computer program that lets you input the type of structure you’re planning and where it will be located, then spits out appropriate limitations and restrictions. Although I’m in the software business, this is a bit more ambitious than I would wish to tackle. If someone else wants to beat me to the punch, please do.

Tim Garrison of www.constructioncalc.com, is a professional engineer, author and software producer for the building industry. Send e-mail to buildersengineer@constructioncalc.com.]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=314 California’s Title 24 affects more than just California contractors. Manufacturers are changing their product lines to meet the compliance standards for the large California market. The product changes meet the rising demand from consumers to use energy-efficient or green fixtures and appliances.

The California Energy Commission adopted the 2005 changes to the Building Energy Efficiency Standards for a number of compelling reasons:

1. To respond to California's energy crisis: to reduce energy bills, increase energy delivery system reliability and contribute to an improved economic condition for the state;

2. To respond to the AB 970 (Statutes of 2000) urgency legislation to adopt and implement updated and cost-effective building energy efficiency standards;

3. To respond to the SB 5X (Statutes of 2001) urgency legislation to adopt energy efficiency building standards for outdoor lighting; and

4. To emphasize energy efficiency measures that save energy at peak periods and seasons, improve the quality of installation of energy efficiency measures, incorporate recent publicly funded building science research and collaborate with California utilities to incorporate results of appropriate market incentive programs for specific technologies.

The biggest changes for residential contractors are:

Efficient lighting: High-efficiency lighting (e.g., fluorescent) in all permanent lighting or controls; high-efficacy in kitchens; high-efficacy or motion sensors in bathroom, utility rooms, garages, laundry rooms; high-efficacy or combined photo sensor/motion sensor for exterior lights; high-efficacy or dimmer in other lighting; airtight can lights (mandatory).

Dust insulation: Levels depending on climate zone (R-4.2 to R-8) (prescriptive). Pipe insulation: Hot water pipes to the kitchen have to be insulated (prescriptive).

Loopholes closed: Credit no longer given for reduced glazing area of central water heating systems in multifamily buildings. [Alternative Calculations (ACM), performance].

Replacement windows: Have to be high-efficiency (prescriptive).

Duct sealing: Required when air conditioner/furnace is replaced or ducts are replaced (prescriptive).

Compliance credit: High EER air conditioners, gas cooling, high-quality insulation installation, properly sized air conditioners, efficient air conditioner fan motors, ducts buried in attic insulation (ACM Manual, performance).

Third-party field verification: Changes made to encourage quality installation to be field verified; group measures requiring third-party testing and verification and improve protocols and procedures (ACM Manual, performance).

Outdoor lighting: High-efficacy or motion sensor/photo control for fixtures attached to buildings (mandatory). ]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=322 There was a time about 50 years ago that we didn’t have sheetrock on the walls in our homes or businesses. Instead, walls were constructed the normal way with studs, and applied lath and plaster to make the walls kind of smooth. It was covered with 1/4-inch wood lath spaced about 1/4 inch apart. Then the plaster boys would apply their three coats of "magic” plaster to the walls and hopefully it would be somewhat smooth when they were done.

If you needed to make a hole in that wall after it was completed you used a keyhole saw. The old keyhole saw had a blade about 12 inches long with a wood handle that was a pistol-grip-like affair. It worked OK, except cutting upside down was a real pain. But you needed the big handle and good grip because plaster and wood lath makes a pretty tough customer for a saw.

Today we have Stanley’s Fat Max 20-556, Klein Tools’ 725 jab saw and Milwaukee Tool’s Heavy Duty Job Saw kit.

Today’s sheetrock is real easy to cut, so you don’t need a huge saw built like a tank. These small, lightweight jab saws are just right for the job. The round rubber-like handles are comfortable for all position cutting—easy to use and easy on the hand. Being so small, they fit into the tool bag just like a screwdriver.

The Stanley Fat Max 20-556 and Klein Tools’ 725 jab saws are virtually identical except color. The six-inch blades have unidirectional shark like teeth for quick push/pull cutting. The blade tips have real sharp points on them that are sure to cause some careless person some serious pain. The molded handle fits nicely in the hand and is ready for work.

The Milwaukee 11-piece Quick Loc Job Saw Utility Kit is a real mouthful. This little box comes with a handle that has a quick lockjaw like an electric reciprocal saw has. Not only can you put different lengths and sizes of reciprocal saw blades in it, the saw kit comes with a hunting blade, linoleum knife and a putty knife. The putty knife works great as a lightweight chisel/scraper: just don’t pound on the handle. The grout raker and roofers blade are good for getting into tight places. As small as the utility blade is, I found it easier to just pull out my normal utility knife. There is a 3/4-inch-wide paint scraper blade that I haven’t found a use for because it’s too small. But the 5-inch-long wavy and straight knife blades are very sharp: great for cutting insulation. I don’t know how long they’ll stay that way, though, because they are made of a softer metal than the hunting blade. If you put the carbide grout blade to work you better be careful, because the carbide doesn’t care if it grinds up your tile or not.

One thing everybody will notice is that all these cool little tools will fit into most reciprocal saws. Stop! Just because they will fit doesn’t mean you should try. Without the proper application these little tools will really mess up your day.

Now, most of you probably have a saw to cut holes in walls and other things. However, to ensure a long-lasting and strong jab saw, you really should try one of these out. The Milwaukee Job Saw kit has tons of versatility in this little box. Throw in a couple of reciprocating saw blades and it’s complete.

Remember not to light up your day by cutting into the electrical wires hiding in that wall. Cut a small hole first, look in and then enlarge it to the proper size. We had a worker for our heating company learn that lesson just two days ago, and it scared the beejeebees out of him, too. He gets to buy a new saw now, as his has a big notch out of it.

Until next time.

Art Waldal is a custom homebuilder in the Vancouver, Wash., area who’s been building houses for 25 years. E-mail letters@buildernewsmag.com or call our feedback line at (800) 401-0696 to comment.]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=312 The phone call from the client came (as it often does) late in the day on a Friday. "We found what looks like a methamphetamine lab on the property. What do we do?” Fortunately, in this particular situation, the client was doing pre-closing due diligence and so, while the discovery of the meth lab was a surprise, it did not have nearly the same impact as it might have had if the deal already closed and bulldozers had shown up at the site to start work.

While no one sets out to buy a meth lab property, with more than 17,000 residential drug manufacturing labs discovered in the United States last year alone (double the annual number of five years ago) the odds are increasing that a piece of property may have a current or former meth lab occupying it. The labs are found anywhere and everywhere—in houses, apartments, trailers, motel units and even cars. Exercising caution ahead of time might help you avoid becoming the inadvertent owner of costly environmental issues that could delay or derail your building project.

Meth lab epidemic

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive, destructive drug that goes by many nicknames—"speed,” "crank” or "ice,” to name just a few. Meth abuse has given rise to a whole new set of health issues and is cited as a primary reason for a large number of violent crimes. Because meth is easily manufactured, there are increasing concerns about widespread environmental consequences from the clandestine labs.

Discoveries of meth labs have become all too common in recent years, particularly among the Western states. California and Washington have been hit particularly hard, with each state reporting more than 1,000 meth lab discoveries each year for the past four years. But no state is immune. Texas had a nearly 300 percent increase in discoveries between 1999 and 2003, Colorado reported more than double the number of labs uncovered during the same period and Oregon saw an 80 percent increase. Half of all residential drug labs are found in rental units. Furthermore, the known labs may represent only the tip of the iceberg. There are estimates that for every meth lab discovered, nine others go undetected.

Even though most labs are of the small-time variety, manufacturing a few ounces per day, the chemicals used in the process are highly toxic individually and in combination, and can permeate walls, flooring, furniture and objects in a building. Also, every pound of product produced by a meth lab results in five to six times as much hazardous waste, which frequently is flushed down toilets, dumped in streams or deposited on property and presents a potential environmental nightmare reaching far beyond the immediate confines of the lab. Cleanup can be expensive and, until clean, the property is rendered unusable. Even after cleanup, the long-term effects from a meth lab operation still are uncertain.

The proliferation of meth labs is due in part to the ease with which meth is made. Over-the-counter cold medications containing compounds such as pseudoephedrine are cooked with combinations of chemicals such as ether, denatured alcohol, lantern fuel, acetone, paint thinner, kerosene, battery acid, lithium, brake cleaner, iodine, red phosphorus, anhydrous ammonia or lye. The process does not require a trained chemist, and meth cooks take few, if any, safety precautions. Because the process involves heating these highly volatile chemicals, meth labs are commonly discovered when a fire or explosion results from the cooking process.

Investigation and cleanup

The first responders often are law enforcement or fire fighters who are confronted with an extremely hazardous situation, necessitating full-body protective gear and respirators. After the criminal investigation is completed at a site, the environmental investigation and decontamination process begins. Several Western states—among them Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington—have adopted statutes that delegate to health departments responsibility for overseeing investigations and cleanups. Those states typically require some type of official notice posted on the affected property as well as recording the notice, and a ban on use or occupancy until the property is cleaned up.

Most state laws require that property owners use only contractors who are authorized to clean up meth labs and submit work plans to the health department for approval. The property owner is responsible for all costs of property testing and decontamination. Cleanup of a 1,200-square-foot building that housed a meth lab averages $6,500, and can range to as high as $15,000. Most property insurance policies are unlikely to cover the costs of meth lab decontamination. At a site where meth lab wastes have been dumped, the costs can be considerably higher, particularly if groundwater is contaminated. Although several states have grant programs for meth lab investigations and cleanups, those funds usually are available only to state agencies and local governments for their investigation and oversight activities.

Reducing surprises

So it’s your seller’s problem to clean up the meth lab, right? True enough, and, if you’ve done your due diligence and not closed on the deal, you can always walk away and let someone else handle the problem. But if you have closed (and not done any due diligence), then most state environmental statutes make you as the new owner legally and financially responsible for all cleanup costs. The previous owner might be made to contribute to the costs you incur, but you would have to bring a legal action to recover from the seller.

While it is impossible to entirely eliminate the risk of a meth lab discovery derailing a closing or start of construction, the following are some steps that may reduce the likelihood of a surprise:

• Be aware that some properties, such as rentals, are more likely to have been used as a drug lab.

• Check your local health department Web site and county records to see if the property or neighboring properties are listed as known meth labs.

• Do a visual inspection of the property and structures; look for iodine or other chemical stains on the floors or fixtures in a building, a strong solvent odor, or the presence of hoses, chemical bottles or pressurized cylinders.

• Talk to neighbors about whether anyone noticed activities associated with a drug lab, such as covered windows, irregular hours, strong chemical smells or high traffic.

• If there are known meth labs in the vicinity or a meth lab is discovered on adjoining developed portions of a property, investigate wooded or undeveloped areas of the property for signs of discarded hoses, chemicals or propane tanks that would indicate meth lab wastes were dumped on the site.

How clean is "clean”?

Should you end up with a meth-contaminated property, the question then is how much cleanup is enough? With contaminants such as petroleum hydrocarbons or metals, the answer can be found in a statute or regulation that sets a specific cleanup level, which typically is uniform among the states. With meth, however, the cleanup level is much less clear. There is a wide spectrum of cleanup and remediation procedures among the states—from simply directing that a property be aired out for a few days and scrubbing interior building surfaces with ordinary household cleaning products, to detailed procedures for preliminary assessment, decontamination and confirmation sampling. Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington each have adopted specific standards for cleanups, but the reality is that any of these standards reflect more what is considered doable than an actual knowledge of what constitutes "clean.”

Conclusion

Many states have passed laws to restrict sales of over-the-counter cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine. While there is some indication that those laws may significantly reduce the number of meth labs, it is too early to tell whether the impact will be lasting. In the meantime, there are untold numbers of meth labs and meth waste dumps waiting to be discovered. By doing some due diligence ahead of time, you may avoid the costly and time-consuming problems that accompany those properties.

Mike A. Nesteroff is a shareholder at Lane Powell, PC, where he practices primarily in the areas of environmental, real estate and commercial litigation. He can be reached by e-mail at nesteroffm@lanepowell.com or by calling (206) 223-6242.]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=317 In the U.S., hard-surface flooring is a $6.3 billion industry that continues to grow. According to the Freedonia Group, the demand for hard-surface flooring will increase 5.5 percent annually through 2009. High-end products like hardwood, bamboo and laminate (engineered) flooring have the highest market penetration. The greatest sales increases are expected in the laminate lines.

Homeowners like wood floors because they don’t collect dust or other allergens and they last longer than other flooring options. In a nationwide survey commissioned by the National Wood Flooring Association, 58 percent of real estate agents said a house with wood floors brings a higher price than a house without them. Forty-six percent agreed that homes with wood floors sell faster.

Wood floors are developing a reputation for practicality. With engineered wood gaining in durability and water-resistance, builders are able to satisfy a desire for wood floors in basements and in less expensive homes. According to Armstrong, which also owns Bruce and Robbins Hardwood, "Engineered hardwood and thin-profile solid hardwood often allow for a smoother transition to other floors such as vinyl and ceramic.”

Engineered Vs. Solid Wood
Engineered-wood floors are increasingly popular. Once installed, they look like prefinished solid hardwood, and are much less expensive. Engineered wood is made of three to seven sheets of wood in a cross-ply construction. Since only the top layer is hardwood, this fabrication allows builders to use expensive woods more cheaply. Typical engineered flooring is 3/8-inch thick, or half the thickness of solid flooring. The multiple plies give solid strength and moisture resistance, allowing the installation of engineered floors on concrete slabs and in basements. Solid wood flooring expands and contracts much more than engineered wood, causing buckling in moist installations.

What about basements and radiant heating?
Tarkett, a flooring manufacturer, recommends using engineered hardwood instead of solid wood for radiant heating systems and basements. Of the engineered options, they prefer longstrip because it can be floated on an existing floor.

What are installation differences?
Traditional solid woods must be nailed or stapled to a wood subfloor; they can’t be installed directly on concrete, but must be "floated” above it. An exception to this is thin-profile (5/16-inch) solid hardwood, which can be glued down. Engineered wood may be either glued down or floated; floated engineered floors are either glued or snapped together.

What are the advantages to floating floors?
The underlayment protects against moisture and reduces noise. Free-floating floors, such as those offered by Award Flooring, expand and contract as a unit, substantially reducing the likelihood of gaps between boards.

Longstrip planks are a kind of engineered wood with multiple wood plies and a hardwood finish layer. Unlike other plank or strip flooring, they are primarily designed to be floated. Longstrip planks average 7 feet long and 7 1/2 inches wide. The top finish layer of each plank is made of many smaller pieces, giving the look of strip planking without the labor. However, the joints between planks show up more than the joints between the pieces making up the planks. (Tarkett longstrip flooring is sold in 7-inch-wide and 8-foot-long strips.)

What are the options for floor edges?
Traditional floor edges were either smooth or deeply grooved. Today, beveled edges come in two depths, with the "eased” or "microbeveled” edge less deep than they used to be. Beveled planks help hide uneven plank heights, but they cost more and are more difficult to clean.

Prefinished vs. Job-site Finishes
Buyers of more expensive homes often want solid wood finished at the job site.

Advantages of site-finished floors:
The sanding process levels the floor and reduces the grooves between planks. Finishing onsite makes it easier to match the wood flooring to other woods/colors. The customer has more freedom to use custom patterns, including borders and inlays.

Disadvantages to site-finished floors:
These floors take longer to install. Many site-finish fumes are noxious and lingering, and the traditional three coats don't give as durable a finish as seven-coat factory finishes. (By using UV-cured urethane, factories are now able to apply several coats in a matter of minutes.) Factory warranties on finishes are unavailable on site-finished floors.

Green Options:
Hardwood flooring is both renewable and recyclable, and its production uses less energy, produces less waste and emits less carbon dioxide than other flooring options. Country Plank offers a line of hardwood floors using reclaimed flooring made from dismantled agricultural and mill buildings. Green River Lumber specializes in sustainable-harvest hardwoods only. Weyerhaeuser’s Eucalyptus hybrid, Lyptus, is grown from the stump or root structure of the prior generation of trees, minimizing disturbance of the land. Award, D&M Bamboo and Teragren all produce bamboo "hardwood” floors. Bamboo is a fully renewable resource, and can be re-cut yearly. Harvested bamboo types don’t include those eaten by panda bears.

Milling Techniques:
Boards for wood flooring can be cut at different angles in relation to the grain. According to Taylor Lumber, 98 percent of the lumber produced in the world is plain sawn. Standard cutting has a mix of flat and vertical grains at many angles, and while fast to manufacture, it has a higher waste in the field and can be more difficult to install.

The other two options are quarter-sawn and rift-sawn; rift is the superior grade. Quarter- and rift-sawn lumber is hand-flipped during manufacturing to create wood that is almost all vertical grain. These grades are extremely durable, withstanding wear and abuse. Quarter- and rift-sawn boards are more expensive but are much more attractive for the high-end market because they produce closer pores, straighter grain patterns and fewer variations than plain-sawn. For example, plain-sawn red oak has a flared grain, but rift sawing tightens the pattern, with straight vertical grain, and quarter sawing produces a flake or butterfly pattern very close to vertical grain.

All engineered flooring is flat grain made from peeled veneer sheets. Nowadays the ultra-tough finishes have a guarantee of five to twenty-five years in noncommercial installations.]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=307 The Winners...

Deadlines: The hugely successful and impressive "Deadlines” winner is the collective project of the 30th Annual NW Natural Street of Dreams Development in Wilsonville, Ore., that began and finished in a mere six months.

Dollars: Pischel Construction of Pasco, Wash., wowed us with their "Dollars” sense through minding money administratively and innovatively while building safe, energy-efficient green homes.

Demand: The winner of our "Demand” criteria is the renovator of the historic Hotel Alder—Walsh Construction and the Central City Concern. The non-profit CCC fought every issue and demand in order to meet the lack of housing for the homeless in downtown Portland, Ore.

DEADLINES

NW Natural Street of Dreams

It’s tempting to call the 30th Annual, 2005 NW Natural Street of Dreams Development in Wilsonville, Ore., an example of production building, but a more appropriate evaluation would be "Gee, what a PRODUCTION!”

This annual development never disappoints. The 10,000+ people who visit the NW Natural Street of Dreams every year expect, and get, opulence overload. Various homes boast hand-painted murals, a jetted tub that fills from the ceiling (in Oregon we usually call this vertical distribution system "rain”), atmospherically attuned wine rooms, an indoor basketball court, and over-the-top outdoor entertainment/cooking areas that could only be described as personal convention centers.

The eight homes were built on lots that, on average, are at least a quarter the size of the world’s smallest nation (average NW Natural Street of Dreams lot, 217,000 square feet; Vatican City, 806,404 square feet). The total value of the homes was almost $20 million; seven of the structures were sold before the four-week summer show was even over.

Ironically, the most impressive component of the NW Natural Street of Dreams may be something that visitors don’t see: the ability of the participating builders to beat a crippling construction deadline. The eight builders literally went from zero done to almost 50,000 square feet custom finished (and fully furnished) in 180 days.

The Street of Dreams wins the Editor’s Choice BN 3-D—D for Deadlines—award for meeting, and in some cases beating, a deadline that many custom builders would consider crazy—if they’d consider it at all!

Deadlines Award-Winner Individual Homebuilders:

Blazer Development, Inc.

CastleRock Homes, Inc.

Haggart Luxury Homes

Hearth & Home Residential Construction

KDC Construction, LLC

Olsen Homes, Inc.

Taurus Homes, Inc.

Wallace Custom Homes

DOLLARS

Pischel Construction

Tyson Pischel is a master of thinking outside the blocks. Among contractors, there’s a general sense (one might even call it a "common sense”) that ICF homes aren’t cost competitive. Studies would appear to bear that out. In a house-to-house comparison between an 1,100-square-foot stick-built home and two same-size ICF homes (one screen grid block ICF system and one wall plank ICF system) the above-grade wall costs for the wood framing were 65 and 40 percent lower, respectively, than the equivalent ICF costs (NOTE: this study was conducted prior to the current cement shortages/price increases). The wood framing required 11 to 37 percent fewer hours to complete than the building blocks. The ICF homes required extension jambs, hand trimming and some drywall returns that were related to the thicker walls. All in all, the data seemed pretty darning.

Well, mea culpa—and perhaps even "youa culpa”—for not looking past the concrete evidence.

Thanks to constant attention to the dollars and details, discounts and deductions, Tyson Pischel, president of Pischel Construction (Pasco, Wash.), has managed to create a development of ICF homes whose prices met—and in some cases beat—their more conventional competitors. Could you sell a 1,500-square-foot home—ICF aside—with energy heel trusses, 13 SEER A/C, a 90 percent gas furnace, fresh-air intake system, Energy Star-qualified windows, R-49 insulation, etc., for $165,000?

Pischel notes that ICF homes have not widely been afforded the advantages of a production environment. For example, the savings gained by buying lots en masse can easily save $7 to $10 per square foot on a 1,500-to-1,600-square-foot home. Also, trade contractors tend to recognize the potential in the larger projects and will tighten up their bids, knowing they can make it up on quantity and repetition.

Pischel Construction wins the Editor’s Choice BN 3-D—D for Dollars—award for proving that there’s no such thing as a high fixed cost that can’t be fixed. Not when you’ve got a really creative contractor nailing down the details.

DEMAND

Hotel Alder

The Hotel Alder Project is a winner on every level. Residents who recently lived under street lights, bridges and Portland’s persistent precipitation now enjoy a safe, seismically stable building with controlled access, onsite staffing, open communal kitchens and living room, additional bathrooms and showers, a luxurious lobby, and a painstakingly restored mezzanine level. Not surprisingly, the Hotel Alder is already fully leased.

The City of Portland benefits from the restoration of a historic landmark, one that has been—and for the next 60 years will continue to be—vital to the downtown core. The State of Oregon, City of Portland, Portland Development Commission and Portland Planning Commission—entities which supplied the project with effort, enthusiasm and (in some cases) economic support—all rave about the renovation.

"The City is proud to be a partner on this project,” said Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten. "Originally built as a working-class hotel, the new Hotel Alder preserves a unique piece of downtown history while providing housing for folks working hard to escape homelessness. This kind of inspirational and affordable housing is a critical component of our community’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness.”

Readers interested in learning more about the Hotel Alder project or CCC can e-mail Christine Appleberry, marketing and development director, at cappleberry@centralcityconcern.org or check the organization’s Web site at www.centralcityconcern.org. Donations to CCC are tax deductible.]]> Thu, 01 Dec 2005 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=306 For example:

• Small builders typically purchase one, maybe two freestanding or infill lots at a time (or build on individual client-owned lots) on an as-needed, as-available basis. Add a zero or two and you have the 10 or 200 or 1,200 lots that big builders usually desire-require-acquire in a single sale (example: Quadrant Homes, the biggest builder in the Puget Sound area, recently obtained control of nearly 1,000 residential lots in the Portland, Ore., metro area from local builder Holt Homes). Production builders have a voracious appetite for land.

They have to—production builders can’t deal with single lots. To reach the necessary economies of scale, they have to deal with lots of lots, lots of times. Fortunately for them, they have the clout to serve as builders/developers, subdivide new land parcels, scout out far-flung areas, finance infrastructure, forge strategic partnerships, influence political decisions (annexations, rezoning, urban growth boundaries, eminent domain, government land sales, etc.) and create consortiums capable of leveraging multimillion dollar deals. Case in point: the Focus Property Group and a consortium of eight of the nation’s well-known homebuilders (KB Homes, Kimball Hill Homes, Lennar/US Home, Meritage Homes, Pulte Homes, Ryland Homes, Toll Brothers Homes and Woodside Homes) recently purchased 1,940 acres in Nevada. Price: over $550 million.

• Small builders may build only one home per house plan and offer unique design/build services (feng shui and chemically sensitive structures, for example, are increasingly popular sidelines for small builders). Here again, production building is a function of more zeroes. Production builders can’t afford the sharp learning curve on one-time structures; to make money they need to build 100 or 200 or 1,200 homes a year using the same basic blueprints and the Henry Ford philosophy "They can have any color they want as long as it’s black.” The big boys need an industrial mentality: Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers and NVR for example, are manufacturing significant sections of their homes in actual factories. Pulte’s structural shells, which include precast basement foundation walls, steel-framed interior walls, SIP exterior walls, and floor trusses, can be used for any of the company’s single family house plans.

In production homes, the custom options available are, like beauty, only skin—make that house wrap—deep (see list on p. 56). Customization is usually a function of being able to choose from a set selection of countertops, flooring, paint, alliances, kitchen/bath cabinets and doors. "The more custom… the more training and labor is required,” says Christopher Shaxted, executive vice president of Lakewood Homes (Hoffman Estates). "At some point the cost of making custom changes rises to a level where buyers lose all the economic advantages typically associated with production building.”

• Small builders make their money one house at a time by careful attention to detail. They often do much of the site work themselves. Big builders make their money 100+ houses at a time through careful attention to systems. They seldom do the actual building. Production builders have the management, manpower, machines and marketing depth necessary to manage large volumes of capital, obtain material discounts (up to and including purchasing all materials for their subs), streamline their bidding and purchasing processes, reduce waste, computerize inventory control and other processes, and mount massive marketing campaigns. At Pulte’s home component factory, for example, it has linked CAD (computer aided design) software with its panel-building machines, so that different designs can be adjusted almost instantly (the plant can produce an 8x24-foot wall in around seven minutes).

Production building can be a complicated construct: According to a recent study conducted by the Del E. Webb School of Construction (Arizona State University), a typical production home in the Phoenix metropolitan area requires the services of at least 25 trade contractors who typically perform about 95 separate activities. Almost all homebuilders who build over 50 homes a year do none of the construction work themselves. Even carpentry, the least frequently outsourced task, is only done in-house by 20 percent of production builders. As a result, production builders have to be as focused on systems as they are on structures.

It isn’t easy to move from being a small custom homebuilder to super-builder status. To do it, one needs to be patient (think "one step at a time”) and zero in on a new set of business challenges, opportunities and attitudes. It takes time and determination.

No one knows that better than the pro builders who have been there, done that. Case in point, Michael Quinn of Quinstruction Development, Inc., in Albany, Ore., who’s currently making the move from custom construction to home production powerhouse. Quinn started his business in 1987 with a few houses/remodels a year and has since become a prolific production builder who has erected everything from in-fill developments to multifamily structures to affordable housing. "Just about everything,” says Quinn, "except storage units. A wing of for-rent storage units looked like a good component to add to a multi-use project I was working on, but then I went to a seminar and learned that one of the big liability booms is in storage unit litigation. Las Vegas alone has three pages of attorneys who specialize in it. It’s a weird deal. Typically, somebody thinks they smell something funny—given the current climate they wonder if it’s meth-related —so they call the police and have the unit searched. The developer can end up sued for breech of privacy by the leasee whose unit was opened and the leasees on both sides who believe that being in proximity to the problem caused the value of their stored goods to drop. It’s a real can of worms.”

In truth, all building is a can of worms, and production building is no exception. The major difference between production building and custom building is that the can is bigger and there’s a lot less wiggle room. "Production building doesn’t have a large margin for error,” says Quinn. "There’s no room for change orders or delays. One crack in the schedule and the butterfly effect ripples through a dozen units. Every decision, every action, is increased by an order of magnitude.”

For example, by using 2x6 rather than 2x4 construction and adding some extra insulation, Quinn can build a home that qualifies for a higher energy use rating. "The additional cost is maybe $300, total,” says Quinn. "If I’m building one house, well, it’s only $300. But if I’m going to build this same model 100 times in the course of a year, suddenly it’s a $30,000 decision. It’s one of the biggest changes I found in moving from being a small homebuilder into the production builder mindset. When you’re a big builder, you build more than individual homes. With each decision you build precedents, and the precedents you set can impact your bottom line for a long, long time.”

"One decision you have to make correctly is your choice of subs,” says Quinn, who has used mostly the same subs since his business began. "There are so many things a production builder needs to do— for example, find sufficient land to keep his crew going—that he needs to have subs he can trust, people who will watch his back. Loyalty is worth a lot.” Quinn uses the term "subs” in the widest possible context.

"I always use the same bank, no matter how many new ones come to call,” says Quinn, whose most recent deal involved the purchase of an old Baptist church, which he renovated into a marriage chapel and partnered with nine units of affordable housing (eight of which were sold before he even broke ground). "I use the same person at the same title company on all of my jobs. I trust Yvonne to do right by me and she trusts me to bring her all of my business. Our companies grow in tandem. It saves me time and money. Our strategic partnership is so strong that I don’t take the time to read all of the fine print—and I don’t pay my lawyer to do it, either.”

"One of the most costly mistakes a production builder can make is to spend his time looking for the cheapest bid,” Quinn advises. "Maybe you can do that as a small builder because you have the time to kick tires and perhaps even the time to babysit your subs. I don’t have that kind of time and if I did I could still use it more profitably doing something else. I could probably save $3,000 per house if I shopped my contracts around, but I’d pay for it in the long run. As it is, my subs look out for me. They keep track of my projects so they know when work is coming up and they pencil me in. They make sure that they have the materials on hand when I need them. I know that they’re covered in terms of licensing, liability insurance, green cards, etc. The different subs have learned to work together because they’ve been doing it for a long time.”

"In some respects my function is administrative,” says Quinn, noting that his responsibilities cover development, construction and selling. "I do what I can to make my subs’ jobs easier. I serve as an arbiter—perhaps parent would be a better word—when there are disagreements. I do what I can to limit callbacks; for example, I try very hard to group callbacks so that my subs can kill two birds, at least, with one stone. Sometimes I purchase sub supplies like roofing and sheetrock, which can facilitate their cash flow. I don’t procrastinate because that can impact everyone. For example, the other day when an OR-OSHA inspector was onsite and pointed out that we should change a cable, I took one of my people off another task so that he could replace the cable right away. That’s not just good sense (and lucky, given that the inspector came back an hour later!), it’s good business sense. What we have going is like a symphony: I may be the conductor but I have a lot of good musicians who can read the music and carry a tune. I couldn’t keep my business going without them!”

Quinn also notes that as a small builder moves into the production building arena—as he puts it, "moving from a one-ring circus into a three-ring show”—he requires a broader range of specialists. "Having a good attorney, accountant and engineer is critical,” says Quinn, who also stresses the importance of getting along with local government officials, planners and inspectors. "There are so many legislative changes, code interpretations and tax implications related to what you do that you need to have somebody watching your back at the back end. For example, my accountant pointed out that I could save about $10,000 a year on liability insurance if my subs split their invoices between materials and labor because I only had to insure the labor part of the contract. It doesn’t take many suggestions like that to convince a production builder to invest in the best.”

Another major change that small builders have to make as they become production people is the way they approach customization. "Everybody wants a custom home, or at least a home that is somewhat customized to their needs and tastes,” says Quinn. "You have to be creative about being creative. The custom touches should be something that appears custom to the customer but doesn’t require change orders, special purchases or extra work. Some traditional custom touches are pretty standard. For example, we have a standard carpet but we let the homebuyer pick the color. They get to select their laminate countertops. I always save the exterior paint for last so that they can choose their hues.”

Quinn notes that other creative options can be built into the production mindset. For example:

• Floor plans can be chosen that offer unfinished rooms that the buyer can expand at will and/or in a variety of ways.

• Multiple-use rooms (is it a bedroom or den or guestroom or craft room?) are popular.

• Flexible spaces like lofts and great rooms add value.

• Convertible areas (a garage or storage room that could become living space or vice versa) are attractive to growing families.

• Distinctive rooms such as game, entertainment or kids’ rooms (this last with extra sound buffering) are becoming more common.

• Rooms with specific functions speak to homebuyers.

• Separate living and dining rooms are desirable.

• Rooms with options that make them more functional (e.g., vents or sinks for craft rooms) add value.

• Larger, but fewer, rooms attract certain demographics.

• Even the most boilerplate building can offer a kitchen with sufficient counters, cabinets and set-up areas; easy access to pots and pans; and conveniences such as additional outlets and higher quality appliances.

• Master bedroom suites ideally have access to the outdoors; include a few "luxuries” like tile floors in the bath, plenty of storage, a closet system, etc.; and provide adequate get-away space. Even small pluses, such as a heated towel rack, can make a production place memorable.

• Don’t forget the front door and entry system. They are the first things that a homebuyer touches. Never scrimp on the first impression!

Moving from custom/small homebuilding into production building is like moving from one city to another. You may need to develop new perspectives, standardize your product/systems and just plain change the way you do business, but after a while the new business environment will feel like home. ]]> Thu, 01 Dec 2005 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=309 Hanging fireplace
The Lumia hanging fireplace by Fondis holds a natural or compressed wood fire ignited by the push of a button. Once filled, it burns for four to five hours. It comes equipped with a built-in ash holder and a self-cleaning, retractable Visioeram window.
Call (312) 327-5261 or visit www.fondis.com.

Grilles
SteelCrest’s new line of custom registers and grilles are available in 16 standard designs, 16 tough powder-coat finishes, and 8 plated finishes. A unique, one-piece design incorporates an air volume damper behind the decorative face of the supply register that lets the user adjust the airflow for proper air balancing throughout the home. This simple design offers years of reliable performance, with the added benefit of a speedy, no-hassle installation procedure.
Call (866) 816-9005 or visit www.steelcrestonline.com.

Battery
Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. has proven that they are the company to go to for a 28-volt lithium ion battery. The battery delivers increased power and twice the run time of a traditional 18-volt model, yet weighs slightly less.
Call (800) 729-3878 or visit www.v28power.com.

The Crawler
The Crawler scaffold-moving device fits any "Baker Style” scaffold and is powered by a cordless drill. The Crawler fits popular drill brands such as Bosch, DeWalt, Hilti, Hitachi and Milwaukee. You can power your scaffold in excess of 1,500 feet with one battery charge. The heavy-duty scaffold rated at 1,000 lbs. The Crawler was listed under the 2005 National Hardware Show Editor’s Choice Awards.
Call (866) 572-8297 or visit www.crawlerproducts.com.

Dryerbox
The Dryerbox, by In-O-Vate Technologies, is admirably simple, consisting of an aluminized steel receptacle that installs between the studs behind the clothes dryer and facilitates the collection and housing of the flex exhaust hose. The Dryerbox has obtained a one-hour F rating from United Laboratories.
Call (866) 270-8240 or visit www.dryerbox.com.

Wobble Light
The Wobble Light is self-righting and nearly impossible to damage. When knocked to the ground, it immediately returns to its standing position. It features a polycarbonate dome that protects the bulb from direct contact with hard objects and debris—perfect for the job site!
Call (847) 230-3640 or visit www.wobblelight.com.

Formaldehyde-free insulation
Spider, from Johns Manville, is a formaldehyde-free, high efficiency sprayed-in fiberglass insulation that combines the superior thermal performance of fiberglass with the benefits of a sprayed-in system. Because it’s formaldehyde-free, Spider improves overall indoor air quality and reduces concerns about the off-gassing of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the home and during installation. Spider was a winner of the 2005 PCBC Cool Products Competition. It was the only insulation product on the list, ranking in at number 6.
Call (303) 978-3028 or visit www.jm.com.

360-degree outlet
360 Electrical, LLC’s revolutionary new line of wall outlets with receptacles rotate a full 360-degrees in both directions. This technology is the first of its kind and solves the problem of low voltage transformers and other large plugs that crowd conventional duplex outlets. The outlet was listed under the 2005 National Hardware Show Editor’s Choice Awards.
Call (801) 364-4900 or visit www.360electrical.com.

Plaster
American Clay Earth Plaster’s new Dos Manos is a method where the primer stage is eliminated and the resulting finish is even more durable than the original. The end result is harder—even though there is no gypsum or cement in the mix—and using the Porcelina produces an even more traditional Venetian plaster finish.
Call (866) 404-1634 or visit www.americanclay.com.

Mold-resistant coating
ForSite is a mold-resistant coating that can be applied in all wall cavities—usually at the drying stage, before windows are installed—as well as on porous surfaces such as concrete where mold can gain a foothold. ForSite goes on like paint or stain with rollers, brushes, sprayer or aerosol. It is available in clear for exterior walls or light blue for wall cavities, where the pigment indicates the coverage.
Call (877) 463-2628 or visit www.envirocarecorp.com.

PVC trim
Fypon’s PVC Trim is available in sheets and boards. It comes in wood grain and smooth styles, plus beaded boards and corner boards. The trim is water- repellent and insect, mold and mildew resistant, and offers ease of maintenance. The trim is available in 5/8-inch, 3/4-inch and 1-inch thicknesses.
Call (800) 446-3040 or visit www.fypon.com.

Wallboard
GP Gypsum’s Densarmor Plus paperless interior wallboard is both moisture- and mold-resistant. The core is reinforced with inorganic glass fibers, increasing its strength. Combined with inorganic glass mats on the face and back, the paperless material finishes easily and has long durability.
Call (800) 225-6119 or visit www.gpgypsum.com.]]> Thu, 01 Dec 2005 http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=303 Increase in codes

Many states are addressing ventilation through building codes, and given the increased concern about health, more are sure to follow. Exhaust and supply fans are a solution, but according to Wes Wilson, Eagle Institute, Vancouver, Wash., "They are not good science in that they create a negative or positive air pressure on the building envelope.” Wilson believes the answer is balanced, continuous ventilation as provided by heat recovery or energy recovery ventilation. Both not only continually exchange polluted indoor air with outside air, they do so while transferring existing heat and/or moisture from one air stream to the other, making them extremely energy efficient.

It’s a potentially dangerous combination to have a house with negative pressure combined with naturally vented appliances, such as gas water heaters or wood stoves, according to Dwight Shackelford, American ALDES vice president in Sarasota, Fla. Naturally vented combustion appliances are becoming rare in new construction, but in older homes, hazardous fumes can be sucked into the structure, rather than vented to the outside. "There is a science behind the structure,” he says. "The beauty of a balanced whole-house ventilation system is done to not disturb the pressure.” [This does not mean, however, that the use of exhaust-only ventilation equipment should be precluded. In fact, in most climates, if naturally vented appliances are not present, it is a very appropriate ventilation strategy.”]

What type of recovery ventilation?

Energy recovery ventilating (ERV) units are designed for warmer climates because they transfer both heat and humidity from one air stream to the other. Heat recovery ventilating (HRV) units only transfer heat and are recommended in northern climates. They both remove polluted indoor air and pull in and filter outside air, while transferring or capturing heat and/or moisture. They’re available as stand-alone units with ductwork or can be integrated into a heating and cooling system. All have a washable filter. However some units, such as Broan’s filtration and energy recovery model offer a high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA). HEPA filters must meet government specifications to remove up to 99.97 percent of contaminants as tiny as 0.3 microns.

Sizing and other considerations

Manufacturers recommend relying on a professional HVAC installer to compute the amount of air exchanges required for the structure. ALDES, like most manufacturers, offers models for houses ranging from 1,100 square feet to 8,000 square feet.

Comparing operating efficiencies can be difficult since testing may occur at varying temperatures and different air flows. A common measure is the Sensible Efficiency Performance (SEP), which basically measures the heat/moisture recovery. "The last reason you buy these is for energy efficiency,” says Rob Ferris, product manager with Fantech, Sarasota, Fla. "You’re looking for better controlled ventilation and any energy you recover is a bonus.” Ferris recommends consulting the independent Home Ventilating Institute (www.hvi.org) for certified units and their efficiency ratings.

Most HRV manufacturers, such as Fantech and Carrier, offer a limited lifetime warranty on the heat recovery core. However, an ERV’s core is usually a semi-permeable paper material and therefore, will carry a shorter warranty.

Can minimize mold litigation

Mechanical ventilation systems can help decrease the risk of liability around mold and mildew, says John Graham, consultant with Ecos Consulting, Portland, Ore. "If you don’t deal with ventilation properly, you expose yourself to liability issues,” he says. "These are a way to make sure the house doesn’t self-compost.”

Ferris says the units sell themselves because of the increased emphasis on health. "Builders can profit nicely by adding an indoor air quality feature for a health-conscious society,” he says.

Controlled ventilation units can run from $500 on up. But Wilson says that cost is partially offset by eliminating vented windows, whole house fans and timers, and fresh air ducts. "Plus it doesn’t count the 70 percent of the energy you throw away with other ventilation techniques,” he says. "Ask yourself, what is the payback on a house that stays stable and doesn’t generate a water or mold lawsuit?” ]]> Thu, 01 Dec 2005